Tag Archives: death

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point

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Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point
Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point

Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The folded hill and gully patterns along the edge of Gower Wash at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Having shot at Zabriskie Point often enough to feel less urgency about shooting the famous and iconic views… yet again… (unless conditions are truly exceptional), I’ve been looking for other elements in the scene. Last year I became interested in using very long lenses to isolate interesting small sections of the scene. I have to say that it is a lot more challenging and satisfying for me to look at the amazing number of potential subjects here that are not the justifiably famous images of Manley Beacon, the Panamints, and the panoramic view of Gower Wash. (I don’t want to get too full of myself here and make it sound like I’m “too good” to shoot the familiar views – in fact I still do point my camera in those directions when the light and other conditions are just right.)

This small section of cracked earth, small hills, and gullies sits right on the edge of the flatter and gravel-filled bottom of Gower Wash right below Zabriskie Point. I made this photograph early in the morning when the light of the sun was partially blocked by clouds to the east and I see a very subtle glow on the sides of these features that face east.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 190mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: death, valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, spring, nature, zabriskie, point, morning, gower, wash, earth, dirt, gravel, sand, gully, hill, eroded, crack, landscape, scenic, travel, light, geology, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California

Star Trails, The Manifold, Zabriskie Point

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Star Trails, The Manifold, Zabriskie Point
The Manifold, Star Trails – Zabriskie Point

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.

One of my goals on my late-March trip to Death Valley was to do some night photography, in particular to take advantage of the nearly full moon near the end of my visit. Some of my plans did not quite work out – for example, on the night when I intended to do night photography of the moving rocks at the Racetrack Playa it was cloudy all night! However, on the final night of my visit the weather gods cooperated and I was able to make a few exposures from Zabriskie Point as the moon rose. As if to partially make up for messing up the intended Racetrack shots, the “cloud gods” were kind enough to provide me with a few high thin clouds at Zabriskie. This was one of those wonderful occasions when things actually did go as planned!

Anticipating the full moon at Zabriskie, I made a point of camping in the vicinity of Furnace Creek at the Texas Springs campground. (I expect that my habits mystified a few nearby campers. I drove in at about 2:00 p.m., grabbed a site and “marked” it by leaving a chair and a tarp, and almost immediately left – not returning until nearly 10:00 p.m. Then I was up and gone well before sunrise.) In any case, I headed down to the Badwater area in the late afternoon to photograph sunset light on the salt flats and evening clouds – following an impromptu “dinner” at the back of my car at the Badwater parking lot. It was getting fairly dark by the time I finished up at Badwater, so I headed straight up to Zabriskie. By the time I arrived the moon was just coming up over the mountain range to the east, with its light at times filtering through high clouds. During the hour I was there I made three exposures. With exposure times in the 8 to 12 minute range and followed by “dark frame exposures” of equal length, this was a slow and quiet process.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
ISO 200, f/8, 787 seconds (not a typo!)

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Commentary

Death Valley Delayed

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Earlier this winter I had evolved a plan to visit Death Valley earlier in the year than I usually do – I was planning on going later this week. However, as the season as unfolded it has turned out to be a very wet one in DEVA NP. According to reports (including this one) many roads are closed or washed out, including those to some of the places I was planning to visit. While the wet conditions also bring some special and unusual opportunities (including landscapes with reflections in ponds), at this point I’m going to hold off and reschedule my visit for the end of March.

By that time there is a good chance that more of the closed areas will have reopened. I have a hunch that this might also end up being a special year for wildflowers – and if I’m lucky I might manage to be there at right about the best time.

Commentary

Web Publishing Experiment – Draft of the Next Death Valley Post

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I decided to try a little web-publishing experiment with part 2 of my series of posts on photographing Death Valley National Park – I’m sharing the draft publicly as I write it. I decided to try this for several reasons.

  • It is prime DeVa photography season now and for the next couple of months, and some people may find the information useful before I’m ready to release the final version.
  • There are lots of you who have DeVa experience of your own, and perhaps your comments and feedback may improve the post.
  • Maybe, just maybe, someone might be interested in watching the evolution of the post. I can flatter myself, right? :-)

To find out more take a look at the current version of the draft, where I’ve added a few words of explanation.

Dan