Paria Mud Cracks

Paria Mud Cracks:  when the mud is moist, these are extremely slippery!

It had rained the previous week.  The mud was still moist and very slippery.  This is what I hoped for:  dramatic puzzle-piece mud cracks leading through the canyon floor.

In composing this photograph, I wanted the cracks to take center stage.  I wanted them to lead to another interesting photography subject as well.  I found a very shallow pool and a rock standing in front of a dark wall.  I tried several compositions with a 16-35 mm lens but I was not satisfied.  I switched to a 17 mm tilt shift lens and took several pictures, shifting the lens up and down in order to have a very good view of the mud cracks at my feet.  These were stitched together in Photoshop.  Black-and-white processing seemed appropriate for this dramatic subject.