Death Valley Days (and nights)

a110p0 · April 22, 2009

I recently took a trip to Death Valley during the Easter weekend.

The impetus for the trip was to see Marta Beckett perform at
the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction.

I've known about the opera house for many years and finally decided to make the
journey to Death Valley to see her perform before she retires.

I drove from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles to meet my buddy who would
accompany me to Death Valley.

Our first stop was the semi ghost town of Darwin, California. It actually has
about 50 residents, but it looked pretty empty when we were there.

After arriving to our motel in Stovepipe Wells, in Death Valley National Park, we
quickly ate dinner then drove off to shoot the evening light. We ended up at
Devil's Cornfield. We hiked about a half a mile and I had to shoot something
as the light was fading fast.

Our next stop was the ghost town of Rhyolite, NV. Rhyolite was a boom town
between 1905 and 1907.

Probably the most photographed building in Rhyolite is the Cook Bank Building.
We lit the side of the building with a Coleman lantern and the interior with a strobe
with red gel.

The HD & LD Potter Mercantile Building.

The next morning we were up early to shoot Badwater, but I don't have any
shots worth posting.

We also visited Scotty's Castle. Here's a snapshot of the castle.

We drove to Death Valley Junction to check into the Amargosa Hotel, rest a bit
then attend the show.

Death Valley Junction has about 4 permanent residents. Most of the buildings
in town are abandoned.

The doors to the theater open at 7:45pm and the show starts at 8:15pm.

The interior of the theater was painted by Marta Beckett. It took her 4 years to
complete the murals.

Marta's show isn't very long, less than an hour. Here she is in costume.

After the show, the photography continued. Abandoned gas station across from the hotel.

The next day we did some more exploring the abandoned buildings.

We made one more stop, at Zzyzyx where there are the remains of a former
hot springs resort, that is now a desert study center, no photos to post.

We covered a lot of miles but it was fun exploring and shooting. I need to go
back.

Gallery link.

Thanks for reading my thread.

ian408 · April 24, 2009

A place that time seems to have forgotten.

I like the place.

a110p0 · April 24, 2009

Thanks for commenting Ian.

Both Rhyolite and Death Valley Junction are interesting locations.

Alvin

Every Miles A Memory · April 25, 2009

Awesome Story and Photos. Really makes me want to go back.

We visited Death Valley last spring but raced through on our way to go explore some mines with some people we were meeting up with planning on coming back to hit all the areas you mentioned.

While spending the weekend exploring the mines, our fridge went out in the 117 degree heat so we had to keep going West to get to a town that could fix it.

Now you're really making me kick myself for not stopping on our way through the first time!!!!!!!

I guess there will always be Next Time

a110p0 · April 26, 2009

Every Miles A Memory wrote:

Awesome Story and Photos. Really makes me want to go back.

We visited Death Valley last spring but raced through on our way to go explore some mines with some people we were meeting up with planning on coming back to hit all the areas you mentioned.

While spending the weekend exploring the mines, our fridge went out in the 117 degree heat so we had to keep going West to get to a town that could fix it.

Now you're really making me kick myself for not stopping on our way through the first time!!!!!!!

I guess there will always be Next Time

Thanks for you comments Pat. Too bad about your fridge woes on your
trip. The locations will still be there for your next trip.

Alvin

Every Miles A Memory · April 26, 2009

Ok, that reply made me laugh

Something tells me if they've been there this long, they will still be around in another 6 months. You've got a very good point. But your pictures make me want to drive there right now!

grimace · April 26, 2009

Great looking series. The lighting and angles really stand out.

aktse · April 26, 2009

Wonderful trip! And such memories! Well done!

clap

a110p0 · April 28, 2009

aktse wrote:

Wonderful trip! And such memories! Well done! clap

aktse,
We did have a wonderful trip. My buddy and I are still talking about
it. Thanks for commenting.

grimace wrote:

Great looking series. The lighting and angles really stand out.

Thanks grimace.

Alvin

tisun · April 28, 2009

Great series! I like the perspective and light painting. That had to be some long drive for you.

a110p0 · April 29, 2009

tisun wrote:

Great series! I like the perspective and light painting. That had to be some long drive for you.

Thanks tisun. It was fun light painting and just shooting at night
is always an adventure.

We shot from first light and into the night so the days were long, but
the fun of exploring new places kept us going.

We covered a lot of miles for sure, probably around 1000+ miles from
LA alone, plus the drive from the Bay Area to LA and back (~800miles).

My friend was able to borrow an Acura RDX and that car made the driving
less taxing.

Alvin

manda · April 29, 2009

there's a great clarity and pop to your photos

a110p0 · April 29, 2009

manda wrote:

there's a great clarity and pop to your photos

Thanks Manda. I really appreciate the comments and encouragement
from the dgrin community.

Alvin

David_S85 · April 29, 2009

Alvin, fantastic series! I was just out in Beatty, NV, for an overnight stop a week and a half ago (long trip, a 500 mile detour, and too long a story to tell you why), and didn't get to visit any of those wonderful sites that I now realize were just a scant few miles away. Great job capturing what you've shown us here.

I must go back with a different :photo mission in mind.

Death Valley Days (and nights)

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