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Bleak

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I’ve been playing around with some older RAW files lately, and remembered a series of shots from my February Death Valley trip.  When we arrived in the park, we immediately walked a short distance out into Badwater (Lake Manly when it has water in it), just to admire the scene.  Afterwards, we drove up the road, turned on to the West Side Road and were blown away by the amount of water present.  Overall, the light was drab, and I wasn’t too excited about the photos I was getting.

However, I’ve been able to resurrect some of these “blah” images as black and white photos–the clouds were present, the contrast and tonality was present, why not make a black and white image?  To that end, here are a couple of images.


Panamint Mountains, Late Afternoon, February 2010

storm in death valley national park, california

Stormy Skies, February 2010

The lesson here is simple: like these images AND in Death Valley, things may appear bleak on the surface, but if you’re willing to take the time and dig into them, you can find beauty just about anywhere.

To see all of my Death Valley images, click here.

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Ibex Dunes

Friday, February 26th, 2010

After our poor weather at Badwater on Saturday morning, we recovered, and headed to the extreme southeast corner of Death Valley to visit Ibex Dunes.  I’ve wanted to visit Ibex for nearly a year, and was happy to get the chance to make it down there.  I like Ibex for several reasons: it is secluded so solitude is nearly a guarantee, the dunes are taller than those at Stovepipe Wells, so they give some alternative choices for composition, and they are on the way home, so stopping there to camp makes the drive home a little shorter.

As I said in my last post, bad weather can either make for stubborn or amazing light.   The latter was definitely the case on our visit to Ibex.  When we arrived, the sun was behind a thick cloud bank, and I was afraid that would be telling of our entire visit.  However, in the final 15 minutes before sunset, the sun peeked out and lit the dunes and the mountains behind them brilliantly.  The warm tones of the earth contrasted amazingly well with the stormy skies, thus making it one of the best sunset shoots I’ve had in quite some time…possibly ever.  However, the light only lasted about 15 minutes, and we made the 1 mile walk back to the car.

Ibex Dunes at sunset, Death Valley National Park, California

Ibex Dunes and the Saddle Peak Hills, Death Valley National Park, February 2010

The great thing about Death Valley is that you never know what the day has in store for you!

"Self Portrait", Death Valley National Park, February 2010

"Self Portrait", Death Valley National Park, February 2010

To see all of my Death Valley photos, click here.

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A strange visitor at Badwater

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

This weekend, a friend and I drove to Death Valley National Park.  I had heard there is currently water in Badwater Basin, and wanted to see it, as well as photograph it.  Since Death Valley usually does not get enough rain to allow for standing water in the basin, this is a rare event (since January 1, Furnace Creek has received over 2″ of rain).  On Friday, we arrived at Badwater about 3pm, and immediately headed to the West Side Road in search of photo opportunities.

On Friday, another storm moved into the area.  In my experience, bad weather can either lead to amazing light conditions, or to very poor conditions for photography.  Unfortunately, in this case, it was the latter.  There wasn’t much of a sunset on Friday night.  However, after dark, we headed back over to the Badwater parking area and walked out on the salt flat.  Because conditions were poor for star trail photography, my friend and I did some light graffiti–one of his newest hobbies.  I have to disclose that I really did nothing here, except for stand behind the camera, but this one is called ‘Badwater Blooms’.

light graffiti on Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, California

"Badwater Blooms", Death Valley National Park, February 2010

As we were experimenting with different bloom configurations, the strangest thing happened.  We thought we were alone on the salt flat, but off in the distance, we could make out a figure walking towards us.  Ours was the only car in the parking lot, and no one had arrived, so we tried to say hello, thinking the person may be lost or need help.  The figure didn’t say anything, but as it got closer to us, a bright light appeared behind it, and the figure disappeared, almost as quickly as it had appeared.

I managed to snap this photo before it disappeared.

a strange silhouette in Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California

A strange visitor, Death Valley National Park, February 2010

Was the visitor from another dimension?  Did it exit through a portal that’s only open when Badwater Basin is full of water?  I’m not sure.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have much better light the next morning; in fact, we had really poor light.  However, Saturday night, we had the best light I’ve had in quite some time.  I’ll share those images in my next post.

You can see all my Death Valley images here.

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Photo of the Month-February

Monday, February 1st, 2010

I really cannot believe that January–1/12 of 2010–is already behind us.  It seems like just yesterday we were all sharing our favorite images of 2009, and we’ve already created so many fantastic images this year.

Here in southern California, the weather is already starting to feel spring-like.  Around my house, the hillsides are turning the vibrant green that will be with us until April.  There’s talk of a decent wildflower season after our epic rainfall totals during the last couple of weeks.  While our spring will have moved into summer by the time the rest of the nation begins theirs, I’m looking forward to all of those spring time photo outings–the ones where you (should) take just a few moments to bask in the warm sunlight, or in a grass-filled meadow.  I’m also looking forward to hopefully fitting in our annual trip to Death Valley National Park this year.

If you haven’t been, Death Valley is a pleasantly deceiving national park.  The idea of “DEATH Valley” brings to mind a barren landscape that’s, to put it bluntly, boring.  Anyone who’s been there will tell you the opposite.  Its an amazing park, encompassing many ecosystems, and several natural wonders.  What amazes me is how much diversity is present in a relatively small space.

One of my favorite places in Death Valley is the Racetrack Playa, where the famed “racing rocks” are found.  The playa itself is a very flat surface; its altitude varies only a few centimeters across its 1-mile length!  When the playa is wet (as it probably is now), it makes a very slick surface, and high winds push the “racing rocks” along, leaving tracks that remain after the mud has dried.  Many of the rocks are quite large, and I’m happy I haven’t been on the playa during the winds that are capable of pushing rocks that heavy–I would guess there would have to be gusts in excess of 80 or 90 mph!

This month’s photo is a star trail shot I took in April 2009 on the Racetrack.  It is a composite of about 25 2.5-minute shots, stacked using Photoshop.  I wanted to include the north star–Polaris–in my shot, so I had to look for a rock that had a northerly trajectory–apparently there aren’t many!

racetrack star trails

Star trails on the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, April 2009

G. Dan Mitchell, an excellent San Francisco Bay Area photographer, has recently been writing a couple of very informative and comprehensive guides to visiting Death Valley.  You can see them here and here.  Mac Danzig, who has an amazing Death Valley portfolio, also has taken the time to write an excellent guide to Death Valley here.

You can see all of my Death Valley photographs here.

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My 5 favorites of 2009: #2

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

In my last post, I shared an image that shows the intimate connection between man and nature.  Today’s image, and the 4th of my favorite images from 2009, is from an April trip to Death Valley National Park.  I had visualized in my mind’s eye the types of shots I wanted to get for weeks leading up to this trip.  However, my plans were foiled on the first night there when a large sandstorm moved into the valley.  We drove to Badwater for sunset photos, and even though I took several frames–including today’s photo–I was ultimately let down with the evening.

When I got home from Death Valley, today’s photo became one of my favorites of the trip, and obviously, of the whole year.  It was taken just as the sun dipped below the peaks of the Panamint Range to the west, giving the feeling of a growing storm.  Because the sky is completely obscured by sand, combined with the salt pan formations, it gives a very otherwordly feel to the image.

Sandstorm at Badwater salt flat, Death Valley National Park, April 2009

Sandstorm at Badwater salt flat, Death Valley National Park, April 2009

Remember to receive 30% prints of all five of my favorite images from 2009 through January 15, and to check out my first two choices here and here.

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