Badwater Basin Salt Flats at Death Valley
The first thing we think of when we hear the name Death Valley is definitely not the word romance, or even beauty, for that matter. And that's fine, but I am here trying to change your mind, because Death Valley isn't anything like it sounds. In fact, Death Valley is one of the most beautiful places on earth that people travel from all over the world to see. Not only is it super freaking cool, it is also one of the hottest places on earth during the summer. If you don't know what 115 degrees Fahrenheit feels like, #DeathValley is the place that can make all your wildest dreams come true, if those dreams involve melting and overheating without having to even move a muscle.
Being a wedding photographer in Las Vegas, I often look at places differently than most people would. Where you might see a dingy alleyway, I see beautiful light and leading lines that would make the most perfect and edgy photoshoot location. And when it comes to landscapes and outdoors, often the most simple backdrops make for the most breathtaking photos, like Badwater Basin. This giant #SaltFlat is the lowest point in America, about 282 ft. below sea level. And the picture below of a sunrise shot at #BadwaterBasin last month proves my point.
To me, the point of pictures is to tell a story by capturing a single moment in time. Every aspect of a picture - from the location to the posing, light, colors, and clothing are involved in this story. We woke up at 2 am to drive from #LasVegas to Death Valley to make it there by sunrise. Not only are sunrise and sunset the best times for pictures, sunrise is the coolest time of the day in the middle of the summer, so we wanted to get in early, and get out before it got dangerous. And we lucked out. Not only was the temperature perfect, but we had the ENTIRE SALT FLATS to ourself, and basically the entire park. I think we saw a total of 3 other cars during the entire time we were there. Bless the crazy hot summers in Death Valley.
All we needed to capture quality "adventurous engagement-like pictures" by ourselves was a DSLR, wide angle lens, tripod, IR shutter release, and of course, a knowledge of photography. But these are to show that, to me, the most beautiful backgrounds are usually the simplest, and the soft even light of sunrise is the absolute BEST time to shoot portraits.
These pictures were all taken at Badwater Basin and on the road that leads to it. After we enjoyed the sunrise and played around with some smoke bombs, we headed up to Dante's View. While there are so many awesome spots in Death Valley to see, like the Sand Dunes and the painted mountains, we only had time to pick two before the sun got scary hot. Below is one last pic at the Salt Flats of Bryen playing with a smoke bomb!
Dantes View, Death Valley National Park
While dante's view was cool, the lack of clouds made for dull landscapes, so we stuck to taking pictures of each other taking pictures. But the cool thing about Dante's View is that it overlooks the Salt Flats from way up high, so we could see exactly where we had just been and it was pretty awesome.
And that's it for now! Death Valley is somewhere that is very diverse and freaking HUGE, making it difficult to see all in done day, especially during the summer. The best part is that we are so close living here in Vegas and could go whenever we want. I hope that some of these pictures inspired you to appreciate the largest national park in the lower 48 and maybe take your boo for those engagement or anniversary pics that you need to get!
XOXO,
HAYWAY
