Star Trails, The Manifold, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Star trails above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.
The Story
Because I was there with Patty Emerson Mitchell, who had not been to the park before, it was important to make it to some of the iconic locations during our early April visit to Death Valley National Park. On our final morning we went to Zabriskie Point and stood in line with the other photographers in the early morning to wait for dawn. To be honest, dawn at this place IS special, though I mostly shot small vignettes of nearby formations, since I already have almost all of the Zabriskie photos I’ll likely need!
We arrived a bit after some of the other photographers had arrived and we went to the “usual spot” below the main overlook and found an opening in the line-up of photographers where we would have a clear view of the surroundings and not interfere with others who were already there. At one point I was working out some compositions with a very long lens pointed down at some little gullies below our position when a fellow (who shall remain nameless, though I later found out that he is someone who should know better) must have become interested in what I was doing. Either very interested in “my” shots or else completely oblivious to anyone else, he wandered over right in front of my camera and stood there looking and taking handheld photographs!
There are several ways to respond to this. Shouting “What the hell!” might have been one of them, but instead I just thought it was funny. I suppose if the light had been truly astonishing I might have yelled (or mused about simply pushing him over the edge! ), but with fairly static light at that moment I simply chuckled a bit and pointed him out to my wife.
(Note: The photograph shown with this post was not made during this most recent trip.)
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
I’ve never had anyone plant themselves right in front of me before, but I have had experiences of getting crowded and almost crowded out.
Late last October I was in Yosemite getting ready to shoot sunset on El Capitan from the Valley View. My wife and I arrived about 30 minutes before sunset and I staked out my spot amongst the two or so other photographers there.
At about two minutes before sunset, just as the color was changing on the face of El Capitan, I hear the sound of cars rapidly pulling into the parking area right behind me and suddenly their were about a dozen photographers quickly grabbing spots all around me to set up and shoot. My sense of personal space shrunk by about 95% in less than a minute.
It turns out this was a workshop group led by someone you probably know.
That was a wild experience that I’d never had before and hope to not be a part of again.
Wow, that must have been a surprise. I’m tempted to say that you were incredibly lucky to start with a small crowd for an October sunset at Tunnel View… but, still, I can imagine how distressing it must have been to have your quiet interrupted like that! (Most of my Yosemite photographer friends to do workshops take on smaller groups that would probably be able to fit in 1-3 vehicles.)
I have learned that I can’t expect a lot of space at certain iconic and popular sites. In Yosemite, Tunnel View, Valley View (along the Merced), and Sentinel Bridge are quite high on the list of busy, popular spots. I only shoot at them when a) I’m taking someone who has not seen them before, b) it is an unusual time of day or year (early morning, foggy, etc.), or c) the conditions are so stunning that I’m willing to put up with the throngs! While I usually work entirely alone and in deep quiet, I adapt when in such places, knowing that they are not lonely or quiet places, and I’ll converse with the other photographers in most cases.
Take care,
Dan
(I have one other habit in such places that might strike some photographers as being downright bizarre. As a parent who has plenty of photos of my family that don’t include me… when I have a slow moment photographing at such a place, I often ask folks doing group shots if they would like me to take their cameras and make the photo!)