FIRST LIGHT IN DEATH VALLEY

CAMERON MARTINDELL, SAMMAMISH, WASHINGTON

I love the sunrise. The idea of charging forward into a fresh new day is never more apparent than when the sun bursts over the horizon and makes steady and noticeable progress until the full orb has cleared the edge of our planet and continues to rise in the sky.

I'm not alone in this. Other photographers—professional amateur—venture out into the dark early-morning hours to be ready for that moment when the first rays of the sun pivot on the horizon, and fill our lenses.

What struck me on this occasion, in Death Valley National Park in California, was the introduction of the human element into this natural environment. There were so many of us gathered together. Despite the fact that we didn't know one another, we were all out there at the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level), to share an exhilarating, even inspiring, moment. It was the dawning of a new day in a truly extraordinary place, among interwoven layers of mountain peaks that sent thought soaring.

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