CraigBILL

Every time I explore Death Valley National Park, I am stolen away with dynamic new views. I remember telling a friend one time (before I had ever visited) that Death Valley would probably not be my favorite park due to its dry open landscape. Wow! I was so wrong... The land and sky change so fast that one hour is a terrible time to even take your camera out - to almost missed shots like this one of the mountain ranges fringing the East side of the park. These were a massive wave of storm clouds that got pushed onto the Pacific side of the US during the first winter storms of the season. And to think I thought I needed to wait out the storm before any photo opportunities arrived. The lightly rained on mountains showed off the unusual coloration when a stream of sun broke across the massive park. It just lit up all the colors like an unveiling in a way I have never seen them when dry and in normal light. "Shadowlands" was captured just minutes before the barren cliffs plunged back into moody clouds and darkness.

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