A lone figure silhouetted on a badlands ridge at sunrise under a pink and purple sky, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley.

For Scale

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California

I was still hunting for a composition when someone walked up onto that hill. Everything I had tried until then failed for the same reason — nothing in the frame told you how big any of it was. They fixed that by existing. I shot it and walked away convinced I had come back with nothing, which turns out to be the least reliable feeling in photography.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 84mm · f/8 · 20s · ISO 80

February 14, 2026

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