Photographing the Deepest Valley in the US (Owens Valley Adventure, Part 1)

In photography it’s easy to focus on the results and to forget about the process. It’s easy to see the pretty picture and not have any sense of what actually went into creating it–those early wake ups, the cold, the wind. But the truth is every photograph is like an iceberg: there’s a pretty little tip sticking up out of the water, the only part that’s visible, but down below, that’s where everything else that gives the photo substance lies.

What you exclude in your photograph is just as important as what you include–you really want to distill the scene down to its very essence. In this video I set up a couple of different compositions in Owens Valley in Eastern California. The Owens River serpentines its way through the valley floor for miles upon miles, creating neat little Oxbow bends under dozens of mountain peaks, allowing for infinite photographic potential and opportunities.

Watch the video as I talk through the eye-catching elements of the scene, the essence I hope to capture, and the camera settings I use to achieve the desired effects.