Photo Of The Day by Mitch Ridder

In the summer of 2013, Death Valley set a new all-time high temperature for June when the mercury hit 129-degrees F. I had that memory in my mind when I saw Mitch Ridder’s photo of Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park. Ridder sent the photo to the Warmth Assignment. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Death Valley over the years, and I’ve seen some drastic temperature swings there. In the sumer, the heat is pervasive, but in the winter, the temperatures at night are frequently bone-chilling. Ridder took this photo shortly before sunset with a Canon EOS 50D, a Canon EF  70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens and a Manfrotto ballhead.

The Warmth Assignment is open for submissions through January 14th at midnight. To submit your photos click here.

Photo of the Day is chosen from various OP galleries, including Assignments, Your Favorite Places and the OP Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the OP website homepage and several images from the Assignment Gallery are picked to be featured in The Best Of Assignments section in the print magazine. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them