Standing Out in Death Valley
Photographers flock to Zabriskie Point.
I just recently returned from a brief trip to Death Valley and, despite the rain (yes we had rain in Death Valley) and frequent cloud cover, it was magical. The landscapes of Death Valley are not awe-inspiring in the same way that the Grand Canyon or Zion are, but they are striking in their own way. The colors, textures, and patterns of Zabriskie Point and Artists Palette call out. The other-worldly landscape of Badwater Basin is indescribable. But, as shown in the photograph above, these are very popular location for photographers and justifiably so. I got my share of classic shots of Zabriskie point as well (below), but I kept asking myself, “How will my photographs differ from the other 50 photographers there that morning?”
Before Sunrise at Zabriskie Point
While most of the photographers had their tripods and cameras pointing West waiting for the sun to paint the hills, I turned east, into the sunrise to capture the clouds and the light coming over the hills.
Looking the other direction at Zabriskie Point
I also wondered what would happen if I combined several frames in a multiple exposure with just a small amount of camera movement between the shots. It created a softer, more abstract rendering of the colors and textures of Zabriskie Point as shown in the image below.
Multiple Exposure at Zabrikskie Point
Then I decided to try the long telephoto lens to compress the scene.
Zabriskie Point through Long Telephoto Lens
Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America offers a unique landscape with the interesting geometries formed by the salt flats. Even on an overcast afternoon it was still striking scenery, but not the light that lends itself to the dramatic shots you often see Badwater Basin. I decided to continue with my IFM (Intentional Foot Movement) technique and just held the camera on a multi-second exposure as I walked by the salt formations creating waves below sea level.
Waves below sea level, camera movement at Badwater Basin
Artist’s Palette
Artists Palette is aptly named with the man colors of the mountains begging for the brush. Here, the overcast skies helped by naturally increasing the saturation of the multitude of colors.
Artists Palette
Then, while walking through Artists Palette, I decided to some more IFM experimentation. While it’s easy to view this technique as hit and miss, I’ve learned a lot about the shutter speeds to use and the type of landsccapes that can create interesting images.
A litlte IFM, Intentional Foot Movement, at Artists Pallette
The Human Element
I normally don’t like to include people in my landscapes, but these hikers added a great sense of scale to the hills and patterns of Zabriskie Point.
Introducing scale at Zabriskie Point
I enjoyed our brief stay in Death Valley and definitely plan to return for some of the classic images in great light and hopefully some new and interesting looks at this classic national park.