The Salton Sea, California.....

Hey all,

Here's my take on The Salton Sea, from today. It was my first "official" shoot with the newly acquired 5D - and yep - I love it! These were shot with the 15mm fisheye, 20mm f/2.8, and 28mm f/1.8. Anyway....enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com …721575944493154​70/detail/

Is the Salton Sea in Death Valley? What's the story behind the abandoned resort?

From your shots it doesn't look like a very inviting place. I sure that's the mood, atmosphere you are trying to capture. If this is the case then I would say you have been quite successful.

Congratulations on the new 5D. It's a great camera. Interesting to see the use of ultra WA lens with the 5D.

Joe

Hey Joe,

The Salton Sea is a lot further south of Death Valley. If you were looking at a map of the area from north to south, you'd see Death Valley, Mojave, Joshua Tree, then the Salton Sea, across a several hundred mile range.

The sea is actually man-made, dating Back to 1905 when heavy rainfall and snowmelt from the Colorado river breached a dyke. It's fed today by water runoff from local farming operations. But the salinity and bacteria levels in the water are so high that there's a problem with fish and bird die-offs. Everything along the shore is coated in salt, depending on when you go, it can really reek of decaying fish. The resort was abandoned, as it's not much of a place to vacation anymore. It still draws visitors for the migratory birds though. You can get the whole story here: http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Salton_Sea

It is kind of creepy, and that's what I wanted. Thanks very much for your compliments! I'm loving the 5D. The 15, 20, and 28 rock if you like wide angle shooting!