Glitter Path on the Dead Sea
August 16, 2018
Photographer: Menashe Davidson
Summary Author: Menashe Davidson
The photo at top shows a glitter path or patch on the Dead Sea. A glitter path appears as a rather smooth track of light when viewed at a distance. However, when looking closely (bottom photo), we can see that individual points of light compose the path. Each of these myriad points is a specular reflection of the Sun. This photo was taken during the morning, from the West Bank (Ein Bokek), looking eastward. While the sun angle was low, the water surface was rippled by a slight wind, and the reflected images became wrinkled and blurry. Click here to see a video of this phenomenon. Note that a glitter pattern's characteristics (shape, size, brightness) is related to the roughness of the water and the viewing geometry. Photos taken on June 1, 2018.
Photo Details: Camera: NIKON D7100; Exposure Time: 0.0001s (1/8000); Aperture: ƒ/16.0; ISO equivalent: 2000; Focal Length (35mm): 110.