A couple weeks ago, I journeyed up to the Spiral Jetty with a few friends, enjoyed an amazing sunset, spent the night being attacked by killer mosquitoes, and enjoyed an amazing sunrise at Rozel Point.

After doing some HDR photography of the sunrise, my friends moseyed out of their sleeping bags and we explored the strange world of an old, abandoned crude oil site. It was sad to find a seagull trapped in the thick ooze where there was nothing we could do to help him. The oil seeps out of the ground, especially with low lake levels.

The extreme heat of summer days makes the oil viscous, which turns into almost a solid during the night. There are always pelican and seagull carcasses dotting the unearthly landscape. The salt makes you feel as if you’re walking on a lake that was frozen over and the reddish water makes you feel like you’re walking on another planet. Despite my heartache over the helpless seagull, I still love it up there, with all its mystery and wonder.