{"title":"Death Valley National Park","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"where-the-sun-burns","title":"Where Resilience Meets the Sun","description":"\u003cp class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\"\u003eI was searching for life in the desert and instead found cracked mud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\"\u003eI had been walking now for 45 minutes in search of a perfect, humble bush nestled in the sand dunes. These scenes typically produce nice ripples in the sand and mountain vistas in the distance. But I hadn't found the perfect scene yet. I had heard from other photographers there that it had rained as much in January of this year as usually rains the entire year. I was finding the witnesses of temporary ponds and lakes here with wetness in the sand. As I rounded a corner, I suddenly found this majestic sand dune lined up as a wall heading toward the setting sun and a huge area of cracked mud, dried by a record heat wave the week before. I know, record rains, then record heat wave in the desert all in 2 months. Resilience was saying hello to the wild.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\"\u003eI could feel the earth move. The dune behaved like an ocean wave rolling into the cracked mud. In the distance, a mountain range split the sun into a starburst. Orange sand and sun complemented the blue sky and mountains, warm meeting cool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\"\u003eI thanked the earth, sky, and water for a sacred ending to a perfect day in the desert.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Bither Photography","offers":[{"title":"12 x 6.8″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48114041684203,"sku":"581917-32278997-305000-173000","price":119.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16 x 9″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48114041716971,"sku":"581917-32278997-406000-229000","price":144.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24 x 13.5″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48114041749739,"sku":"581917-32278997-610000-343000","price":199.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"32 x 18″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48114041782507,"sku":"581917-32278997-813000-457000","price":309.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"40 x 22.5″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48114041815275,"sku":"581917-32278997-1016000-572000","price":469.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0788\/9433\/4187\/files\/2604-dune-sunset-death-valley_7feb650b-8c31-470a-baa8-e0feaaeb4bc7.jpg?v=1776611975"},{"product_id":"the-pulse-of-the-desert-1","title":"The Pulse of the Desert","description":"\u003cp\u003eI was awed when everything around me became fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first light on the peak cut through the twilight turning the landscape alive with warm breath. I had been on top of Dante's Peak a short walk from the Overlook scouting the day before. I parked in earliest twilight. I was alone. A headlamp and flashlight guided me up the mountain to seek wildflowers blooming in the desert. Unsure if this brief ascent would be rewarding, I climbed toward the summit. There, nestled amongst rocks, I found a cluster of apricot globemallow awaiting me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e I found that revisiting a place allows my connection to nature to form more quickly, deeply, and without distraction; this return visit revealed its spirit instantly. I was not wrong to come back. As the first rays of sun struck the mountain top everything glowed a deep orange. Conjuring images of sunsets and autumn, fruit and fire, the color orange is the pulse of strength, joy and enthusiasm. .\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere in this arid place, the sun burns with a deeper, richer fire.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe color lasted only 5 to 10 minutes. Still in twilight, the Basin complemented the scene in blue nicely. I stood in awe, listening to the earth speak.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Bither Photography","offers":[{"title":"12 x 8″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48116438597867,"sku":"581917-32284628-305000-203000","price":129.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"15 x 10″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48116438630635,"sku":"581917-32284628-381000-254000","price":144.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24 x 16″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48116438663403,"sku":"581917-32284628-610000-406000","price":229.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"30 x 20″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48116438696171,"sku":"581917-32284628-762000-508000","price":319.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"36 x 24″ \/ HMPHOTRAGBARYTASUPERRES080BORDER","offer_id":48116438728939,"sku":"581917-32284628-914000-610000","price":449.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0788\/9433\/4187\/files\/2604-pulse-of-the-desert-death-valley.jpg?v=1776690126"},{"product_id":"the-tale-of-two-flowers","title":"The Tale of Two Flowers","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo be native to a place we must learn to speak its language. — Robin Wall Kimmerer “Braiding Sweetgrass”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the time, I simply felt grateful to find Desert Sunflower at the roadside waiting for their photo, but the story of these two flowers still affects me weeks later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heat had caused a superbloom to dissipate within days. And that happened a week before my arrival. I was still hopeful I could find wildflowers amid the remnant of spent flowers going to seed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot far into the mountains, I drove after sunup searching for just the right flowers. Desert Sunflower dotted the roadside but were ragged, not photogenic. After some hiking near the road, I happened upon this pair. They were at first not much to look at. Twin-like in appearance, I thought they should pose for a shoot. Just then, the wind came up as it does mornings here as the air heats the desert. That day the temperature would go over 100 again. In the morning it was more breezy than steady. The flowers danced in the wind. I was at ground level almost on my belly as I tried to find the best angle and bokeh for the shot on the road’s edge. They wouldn’t stop moving. After several minutes of missed attempts, I suddenly felt their presence and they mine. I asked them to please stand still for just a few seconds. That was what I needed to get their photo. I felt them acknowledging my intentions. And then they stopped as the wind calmed briefly. In that moment I got off several images. They started moving again and I asked again for a brief pause but got no response. The wind rose and a whole row of flowers began to sway. I felt that they had decided to go back to their dance with the others and no amount of cajoling would work. I was done.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn those moments, my world had become the flowers’ world. We were one. I became a part of their world in ways difficult to describe. The human world melted away and I was a part of something much larger: the desert, the mountains, the wind. There was real peace. I felt joy and gratitude to be part of their world. I was fulfilled in a way I only find being in nature in its special wild places. I thanked them and their friends, got back into my car and thought about these two for a long while dancing in the wind.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Bither Photography","offers":[{"title":"8 x 8″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122091995371,"sku":"581884-32290530-203000-203000","price":124.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 x 10″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122092028139,"sku":"581884-32290530-254000-254000","price":119.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"15 x 15″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122092060907,"sku":"581884-32290530-381000-381000","price":154.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20 x 20″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122092093675,"sku":"581884-32290530-508000-508000","price":209.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25 x 25″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122092126443,"sku":"581884-32290530-635000-635000","price":309.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"30 x 30″ \/ germanetchsuperres","offer_id":48122092159211,"sku":"581884-32290530-762000-762000","price":419.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0788\/9433\/4187\/files\/2604-tale-of-two-flowers-death-valley-hiresshopify.jpg?v=1776806776"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0788\/9433\/4187\/collections\/2604-dune-sunset-death-valley.jpg?v=1776611547","url":"https:\/\/uz1tcq-a1.myshopify.com\/collections\/death-valley-national-park.oembed","provider":"Mike Bither Photography","version":"1.0","type":"link"}