Stunning Close-Up Photos of Minerals Look Like Beautiful Alien Landscapes

Spanish photographer Saida Valenzuela new series Echoes takes the beauty of the natural world and transforms it into high art. By photographing different minerals, she has created an abstract series that is mesmerizing in its colorful fluidity.

Each mineral, captured from an aerial perspective, reflects the nuances of these glittering stones. Sometimes resembling a sandy desert, other times appearing as nebulous clouds or the night sky, the variety of images is astounding. As Valenzuela reminds us, the minerals, made of millions of crystalline particles, are “unique and unrepeatable designs as if they were from another planet; scenes in varied colors and shapes that remind us of the sea, the desert, the marshes or the earth.”

Valenzuela’s studies in various artistic disciplines is evident in the painterly touch of the photographs. By using nature’s beauty as her guide, she deftly creates a stunning fine art series. “The result is authentic pieces of art naturally created without human intervention that shows us once again nature is, and always will be, the best artist,” Valenzuela writes via email.