Bloody Veins

Willie and I first started flying our drones above the salt ponds in one particular area but knew we wanted to branch out and fly in a few other spots. When I first went to check out this particular area, we were curious about a different scene. But while scouting I noticed this section of salt pond that was pink and red. I snapped a shot with my phone and sent it to Willie. "Oh. We should check that out" was his response. We visited this spot for sunrise during our first visit to this area. The fog had rolled in and we weren't quite sure what we'd see, particularly because it meant we weren't going to get any light on the ponds. But it did mean we could explore and scout and find various scenes. I like this particular spot because the red algae reminded me of blood veins creeping around the body. Yet it's not blood nor veins but instead algae filled streams as water is drained from the salt ponds. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/3.5, 1/25 sec, ISO 400

Cut through the Heart

Recently I learned the difference between a "Salt Flat" and a "Salt Pond". Both are the same, except that a Pond is man-made and is usually created to harvest sea-salt for food production. As the water level drops, the salinity rises and different kinds of algae can survive in the water. These differing algae create the various colors we see in the salt ponds. Willie and I were flying our drones for the first time in this particular area when I spotted all the lines and patterns out here. Willie didn't particularly like all the intersecting lines but I found something calming about them, so I flew my drone over there anyways and captured it. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/3.5, 1/25 sec, ISO 400

Blood Pond

As the water is drained from these salt ponds, the salinity rises. Before the water completely dries up, various forms of algae can survive in these salty waters. This particular algae gives off a reddish color. As the salinity changes we'll often see orange rivers and sometimes just clear rivers. Flying the drone over this particular salt-pond brought out these very pink and red colors in the pond. I tried to find a bend in the river to add some interest, though it was a foggy morning and the light is fairly flat here. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/3.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 200

Brain Recharging

Google Earth has always been a valuable tool to taking photography to the next level. But as I've spent more time flying the drone I'm finding I spend *even more* time within Google Earth. With the drone you're often getting a similar angle, looking down at the world, and it helps visualize a scene before we head there. Of course you still need to imagine how it might look under the right lighting conditions, which Google can't help you predict. This particular stretch of Salt Pond fascinated us because of this big "U" bend in the river. To me, I see a brain in the center of the U, and the yellow river is the skull that holds the brain in. There's a few cords plugged into the brain, recharging it. Do you see what I'm seeing or am I just too tired and my own brain needs a recharge? A foggy morning provided some soft lighting but I loved the way it allowed the textures and shapes and patterns to come out without any extra elements to it. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/30 sec, ISO 160

U R All Connected

Flying the drone over the salt ponds has been a fun endeavor for the last month and a half. Willie and I would head out to the spot, fly 3 batteries worth of time, then pack up and go home. This particular stretch of land fascinated us because we loved the big "U" shape in the center. But I also loved how all the different streams seemed to connect together into one big "brain". In fact, some of the salt starts to look very brainy. Of course there's then the veins of the river coming off as if it's taking the juicy (yellow) blood to various parts of the body. DJI Mavic Pro 2 w/Hasselblad L1D-20c: 10.26mm, f/5, 1/30 sec, ISO 120