Today I took a helicopter ride over the Great Salt Lake to see the famous landmark Spiral Jetty. The trip was extremely enjoyable and the view, most impressive. The lake is so large that it feels like the sea, but the feeling of vastness quickly takes a back seat to the color and the texture that is an integral part of the lake. Depending on the depths, sometimes no water at all, and the type of bacteria and algae growing in various parts, the color of the water varies from red to blue and many shades in between.
My pilot Simon was the most pleasant guy who moved to this country from New Zealand. He seemed to enjoy flying and seeing the nature equally well. As my surprise birthday gift was planned by my wife, and my daughter and son-in-law, we drove to Ogden airport where Simon met us. We later found out that we could have started the flight in Salt Lake City. All in all, the whole experience was truly a great birthday gift. Thank you Jan, Tolga, thank you Elif for organizing it and driving us to Ogden in heavy traffic. Of course, thank you Mina for being such a good sport during the whole long day. Thanks to all of the above people, I have a truly memorable birthday, my 65th. Below are a very preliminary selection of photographs with minimal to no editing, the nature speaks for itself.
Preview
Flora
Infrared Earthscapes
Junk Yard
It was wonderful to see your images. You and I had discussed your planned trip and I had been especially hoping to see the Spiral Jetty images. They are even better than I had anticipated. The colors and textures of the Great Salt Lake are magnificent and the Jetty itself has fascinated me from the first moment I read about it, years ago. Thanks for sharing your experience. And Happy Birthday!
Thank you Cindy, good to hear from you. Yes, the Great Salt Lake was really interesting. I have only a small section of the photographs I took that day posted on the blog, for obvious reasons. My best to you and Charles.
Cemal