Colorful Dried Mud Structures

The "Image of the Month" for January shows an amazing cracked mud, which Steffen found at a small playa within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Dry desert playas are a great place for shooting this type of abstracts.

Mud cracks form after wetter conditions when all the moisture evaporates and the muddy grounds slowly dry out and contract. Usually you'll just see one layer of larger cracks, but here on this image there are several layers of them, some really deep cracks featuring smaller ones on top and interestingly also a lot more just below the upper mud layer.

Image data: 1/30 s at f/13, ISO 200; Canon EF 16-35mm 1:2.8 L II USM at 30 mm, Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Related Links: More images from Anza-Borrego