Aliens in Death Valley Photo

Photographer’s Note

Do you remember the UFO of my previous post? Some 65 km (40 miles) to the southeast, across the Amargosa Range that separates Nevada from California, I've found these six aliens. They are precisely on Badwater Basin, at twilight.
Badwater is one of the weirdest sites of the Death Valley, which itself is one of the most outlandish on Earth. It is the is the hottest, driest and lowest spot in North America, at 282 feet / 86 metres below sea level. The white stuff on the ground it's not snow; it is salt, 290 km (180 miles) from the nearest sea (in Santa Monica, California). These salt flats are the result of geological developments since the era when the valley was not as dry as now.
I arrived in Badwater at twilight, therefore I didn’t get good pictures of the endless white salty plains, but I did experience the most weirdest place I ever had been to. I walked on the salt towards the indefinite middle of the basin. As I walked inside the white expanse of salt, a few tourists headed to their cars parked at the fringe of the basin. The twilight became dusk and night. Soon I found myself in the very middle of nowhere, an endless ghostly plains of salt, with black mountains in the far background and the stars in the sky. There were no wind, no noises, no artificial lights, no signs of human presence. I had never experienced such a feeling of being in a place seemingly out of this world.
In the workshop I post a picture made with the camera of one of the aliens (his name's José Branco), in a nearby spot of the basin.
Location of Badwater Basin in WikiMapia: 36.2365199, -116.7987442.

Buin, lucasgalodoido, bakes888, Amaz, celmaleite, adramad, stego, feather, maloutim has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Buin (36786) 2009-06-23 9:45

Hallo Francisco!
An impressive and inventive photo indeed! These silhouettes in front of this wonderful sky really are something special. A worth-seeing picture and a worth-reading note! Great!
Greetings from warm and sunny Germany!
Frank

roges (1204) 2009-06-23 9:54

Hi Francisco !

An excellent image, very well played.
Color, contrast perfectly.
Have a quiet evening,
Adrian

burraburra (764) 2009-06-23 17:04

Hello Francisco,
Great note. Great shot.
Colours are magnificant.
Love the framing.
Cheers,
Graham.

rlrad (1187) 2009-06-23 17:09

Ola Francisco!

Great rock star shot - is that U2 or something? Looks like right off a CD cover. I like the use of the fill flash to highlight the salty-white sands, but to keep the people in silhouette.

Well done!
Reed

jmdias (18683) 2009-06-23 17:22

chico

bem divertida esta foto, as silhuetas estão muito bem contra a paisagem que apenas é sugerida. gostei das cores e da ideia em si. este é um deserto de sal, conheci o maior de todos e o terceiro maior , todos erguidos em altas altitudes, este aqui deve ser diferente. quanto ao céu de noite, é sempre maravilhoso quando vou á noite para o campo e paro na estrada para admirar o céu estrelado, longe das cidades, num local deste, com cidades ainda mais distantes, a coisa deve ser ainda melhor

abraços

jorge

lucasgalodoido (16537) 2009-06-23 18:00

Olá Francisco,
bem curiosos esses aliens, achei a cabeça deles pequenas, geralmente são grandes, hehe! Muito bonita sua foto.
Parabéns e Abraço

bakes888 (18055) 2009-06-24 1:01

Hi Francisco. Very eye catching shot! Full of mystery. Nice catch of this surreal landscape, great colours and nice use of flash. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

sacavem (8032) 2009-06-24 9:32

Olá Francisco,

Esta foto parece uma promoção de um novo filme tipo caçadores de ...
Boa composição e imaginação.
Filipe

Bluejeans (31479) 2009-06-24 9:37

Oi amigo ,
A tua foto parece um cartaz de filme espacial , as silhuetas dos homens ficaram fantásticas contra o magnifico céu , ficaram bem definidas , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Amaz (6302) 2009-06-24 11:03

Excelente foto, amigo Francisco!!
Muito interessante a nota sua também!!

Um abraço!!

celmaleite (2495) 2009-06-24 11:17

Parece foto de cinema, muito bem trabalhada e divertida. Gosto imensamente das silhuetas e dos tons amarelados mesclando o azul no horizonte. Parabéns, abraço

adramad (3228) 2009-06-24 11:34

Hola Francisco.
Una ingeniosa fotografia, con una espectacular y atrevida gama de color, con lo cual has logrado un sorprendente contraluz, que ademas resulta visualmente muy atrayente.
Saludos.
Luis.

stego (22318) 2009-06-24 11:59

Olá Francisco,
Parece mesmo um anúncio de um filme ou série inspirada em Roswell's, Area 51 e afins... Ambas estão muito bem apanhadas, com as silhuetas contra o sol crepuscular e o chão claro a acentuar o ar de mistério.
Um abraço,
José

feather (49848) 2009-06-24 14:24

If it was meant as a 'holiday snap' then you would be disappointed as no -one can be identified, but as an artwork the result is excellent and no doubt is a good reminder of the feelings you experienced while there. I love the colours and the bright foreground.
Kath

AiresSantos (41220) 2009-06-25 22:59

Ola Francisco para alem de bem visto aplicaste um excelente titulo.
As cores e as silhuetas estao magnificas
Um abraco e bom fim de semana
Aires

PS - Alguns membros TE de Lisboa vão encontrar-se no Parque das Nações na proxima sefunda feira cerca das 20:30...Aires, Filipe (Sacavem), Goncalo (Bluejeans.
Se puderes diz qualquer coisa. Seria um prazer encontramo-nos contigo

maloutim (3897) 2009-06-26 8:13

Salut Francisco!
Une idée originale que de nous poster une photo d'aliens après avoir repéré l'OVNI! Excellente composition de ces 6 silhouettes durant l'heure bleue, debout sur cette terre de sel!
La netteté est très bonne et les couleurs magnifiques.
Avec toutes mes amitiés!
Marie Louise.