Bad Time at Salton Sea

I feel like a documentary photographer here. Shot these with a point-and-shoot digital, posting them while waiting for the real shots (slides) to come back.

Hold the seafood. :eek: What we have here is a fish die/kill due to anaerobic conditions.. this happens when there's an algae bloom that sucks all the oxygen from the water, leaving none for the fish :( There are thousands of dead fish there. The place was already pretty fowl ... the smell was so bad this weekend that I could barely stand it even breathing through my mouth.

Poor ol Salton Sea. It just can't catch a break.

The shoreline isn't sand but the shells of something ... not sure what. It could be the bones of dead fish (!!!) What do you think?

C & C welcome.

GB

Wow I can't think of anything else to say. Wow, kill them all!!!!

awesome pictures.

#1 is my favorite...so peaceful, the water, the beautiful sky...the rotting fish....

#2 is powerful too.

Thks for commenting - What's funny is that this place actually has a lot of beauty too. It's just covered up by all the bad.

Here's some more shots that show some of its better side.

GB

Who scans your slides, those are super...
Greg

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

Who scans your slides, those are super...
Greg

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Greg -- Thks. These aren't the slides: I shoot mostly Kodachrome and they take up to 2 weeks to develop ( then scan them myself). These were taken with a Canon point-and-shoot. Interesting that you thought they were slides: maybe the quality of that thing isn't all so bad. But I did PP them all, mostly changing color tint and adjusting density.

GB

I like the one of the jetta, I sure doesn't look like a P&S camera.
Greg

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

I like the one of the jetta, I sure doesn't look like a P&S camera.
Greg

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You are forgetting that it's a film PS camera. Film has very high resolution so if that little film PS has good optics the resolution is very high >16 mega pixel on 35mm film.

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Originally Posted by freygr

You are forgetting that it's a film PS camera. Film has very high resolution so if that little film PS has good optics the resolution is very high >16 mega pixel on 35mm film.

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Actually guys, it's a digital PNS. It's a Canon 3.2 MP thingie, no manual SS or aperature control. I took the real shots (love to say that :) ) on my Nikon F100 and Mamiya 645, should get those back presently.

I am thinking about breaking down and buying a Nikon D 200 however.

Great film shots here. Just kidding....I know it's a Canon P&S.

Does look like a documentary but the second set of photos do show the nicer side of the area with an ironic twist.

I love tilapia. What a waste...

Thanks for sharing...

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Originally Posted by manacsa

Great film shots here. Just kidding....I know it's a Canon P&S.

Does look like a documentary but the second set of photos do show the nicer side of the area with an ironic twist.

I love tilapia. What a waste...

Thanks for sharing...

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Ugh.... you can say you love tilapia after seeing this?!?!!! (chuckle..) Well pictures don't always do a scene justice... the smell was also part of the experience.

I agree, it's pretty weird that a place can be this nice and ugly at the same time. Perhaps that's what the draw is? Great place for photographers anyways - I think some of my real photos will be even better. They have some trains out there that add to the wild west feeling......

GB

Poor little fish. Looks like it was another smelly visit to the Salton Sea GB. My favorites so far for this series have to be the jetties and the upside down palm trees. Both pics are really neat illustrative images of the pros and cons of this bizarre place. See any petrified palm trees this time?

CL - Naa, no petrified palms. This is the first big fish die I've seen there, or anywhere. I hear it happens at least once a year at this place.

I was there scouting it out for a potential model shoot, but we're still trying to figure out who would want to model out in a place like this (plus it's a 3-hr drive from San Diego)? Maybe a model in cutoff army fatigues, I'm thinking ?

GB

Raggedy fatigue cut offs, Cammo bikini, big black Doc Martin's and an empty canteen to drag around ~ Woo Yeah! :cool:

Great spot to shoot in but it's going to take a real "model's model" to keep her eyes from crossing due to the smell.

Best of luck with the project GB.

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Originally Posted by CLKunst

Raggedy fatigue cut offs, Cammo bikini, big black Doc Martin's and an empty canteen to drag around ~ Woo Yeah! :cool:

Great spot to shoot in but it's going to take a real "model's model" to keep her eyes from crossing due to the smell.

Best of luck with the project GB.

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Thks, we'll need the luck. Your suggestion - "Raggedy fatigue cut offs, Cammo bikini, big black Doc Martin's and an empty canteen" - is really good. I need to find a model that will do it that lives close by -- maybe Palm Springs or Yuma, AZ. And hopefully the smell will be less so by then. Someone at a store told me that last year they hired a contractor to clean it up. Now if they DON'T do that, how long would it be before the dead fish rot and disappear? Hmmm... probably too long! 10 years or more.

GB