Death Valley, CA

shniks

Hey all- got back from another overnight trip to DV... Here is one of Ubehebe Crater.







and here is one of the valley (HDR)






Cheers,

torags

Shot's nice Nikhil

I'm interested in the lighting. The sun appears behind you, is that a rising moon in the image?

shniks

torags wrote:

Shot's nice Nikhil

I'm interested in the lighting. The sun appears behind you, is that a rising moon in the image?

Hey Rags- yeah it's a rising moon (which made my desire to shoot star trails there, all but impossible due to the strong light). Oh well, next time!


Cheers,

anwmn1

Very cool. We drove past this twice on the way to and from the Racetrack but didn't bother to stop.

Thanks for posting such a cool shot!

ian408

shniks wrote:

Hey Rags- yeah it's a rising moon (which made my desire to shoot star trails there, all but impossible due to the strong light). Oh well, next time!


Cheers,

You can still try. Point the camera in the other direction or tighten up the shot and exclude the moon.
If you look at this, you'll see the moon is directly camera left.

bryanj87

Very very nice image. The colors are awesome.

shniks

anwmn1 wrote:

Very cool. We drove past this twice on the way to and from the Racetrack but didn't bother to stop.

Thanks for posting such a cool shot!

Thanks Aaron- I almost did not stop myself, but then decided to and took a short hike up the hill. The view from there is spectacular!


Cheers,

kdog

anwmn1 wrote:

Very cool. We drove past this twice on the way to and from the Racetrack but didn't bother to stop.

I told you we should have stopped there! :thwak



Very cool shot, Nikhil.

-joel

shniks

ian408 wrote:

You can still try. Point the camera in the other direction or tighten up the shot and exclude the moon.
If you look at this, you'll see the moon is directly camera left.

Thanks Ian- Your pic is nice. I do prefer my skies to be darker so that the trails stand out more. e.g. the one below. Hence I don't like shooting with the moon out.





Cheers,

shniks

kdog wrote:

I told you we should have stopped there! :thwak



Very cool shot, Nikhil.

-joel

Lol Joel- well the good news is that you guys have another reason to go back to DV again. I am planning on heading out in the fourth week of March for the wildflowers and some star trails near the Charcoal Kilns area (which by the way were spectacular)... :ivar



Cheers,

Tango

both those shots are sweet, excellent work! very inspiring!

the second image truly is right on.

Blinkings

Lovely work Nikhal. If it wasn't for the moon in the sky, it must have felt like you were on the moon!

shniks

Thanks for the feedback, Aaron n Andrew!



Cheers,

CWSkopec

Love both you images, Nikhil!!

Extraordinary scenes! I can't wait to make it up to Death Valley to do some shooting myself!!

Tee Why

That first shot is very nice. I don't recall seeing a shot like that from Death Valley. Very unique.

ian408

shniks wrote:

Thanks Ian- Your pic is nice. I do prefer my skies to be darker so that the trails stand out more. e.g. the one below. Hence I don't like shooting with the moon out.





Cheers,

I like this. Is it J-tree? Simply beautiful.

shniks

ian408 wrote:

I like this. Is it J-tree? Simply beautiful.

Hey Ian- it is Joshua Tree. I just love that park- don't you? I need to go there again soon.



Cheers,

shniks

CWSkopec wrote:

Love both you images, Nikhil!!

Extraordinary scenes! I can't wait to make it up to Death Valley to do some shooting myself!!

Thanks Chris- I think I have cried myself hoarse that DV is my new fave place. I can't get enough of it. It's too bad that it is a 5 hour drive from LA, else I would be there every weekend. Am going there now March end to capture the wildflowers and I have my eye on a couple of spots for star trails.


Cheers,

shniks

Tee Why wrote:

That first shot is very nice. I don't recall seeing a shot like that from Death Valley. Very unique.

Thanks Tom- that place is really something else. So many more nooks and crannies to explore.



Cheers,

ian408

shniks wrote:

Hey Ian- it is Joshua Tree. I just love that park- don't you? I need to go there again soon.



Cheers,

I haven't been in some time. Yeah. Time to go again

Dwayne Oakes

Great work !! Thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

CWSkopec

shniks wrote:

Thanks Chris- I think I have cried myself hoarse that DV is my new fave place. I can't get enough of it. It's too bad that it is a 5 hour drive from LA, else I would be there every weekend. Am going there now March end to capture the wildflowers and I have my eye on a couple of spots for star trails.


Cheers,

Google maps says it's about 6 hours for me, so you've got me beat! I'm planning on taking a trip to Anza-Borrego desert in March to catch the wildflowers there. At least that's only about an hour from me!

Maybe I'll try some star trails while I'm there... Judging by your star trails, I've got a lot of catching up to do in that respect!

dlplumer

Great shots Nik

coscorrosa

Holy... (can't finish that thought otherwise schmoo would ban me from the Landscapes forum for inappropriate language).

I love both of these shots! How about I trade you a some NW beaches for Death Valley for a few weeks?

I'm going to be in Vegas one day next month (well, longer, but "available" only one day) and I'm thinking of doing a day trip out to Death Valley (your photos as well as those of the arguing photo pals Andrew and Joel (coming to a sitcom near you...) certainly make me want to visit).

scottV

great shots, how did you bracket the hdr one?

shniks

Thanks Dwayne and Don
n/t


Cheers,

shniks

coscorrosa wrote:

Holy... (can't finish that thought otherwise schmoo would ban me from the Landscapes forum for inappropriate language).

I love both of these shots! How about I trade you a some NW beaches for Death Valley for a few weeks?

I'm going to be in Vegas one day next month (well, longer, but "available" only one day) and I'm thinking of doing a day trip out to Death Valley (your photos as well as those of the arguing photo pals Andrew and Joel (coming to a sitcom near you...) certainly make me want to visit).

Ron you should totally go to DV. It's not very far and I would love to see your perspective on the valley. Definitely go to Dante's View (it's around 5000 feet above sea level, compared with the valley where the lower point is 282 feet below SL). I kid you not when I say that DV is my new favorite place. My friends think I am mad!!! (well there might be some truth to it- I did bite a dog once who subsequently got rabies )


Cheers,

shniks

scottV wrote:

great shots, how did you bracket the hdr one?

Hey Scott- It is 3 exposures (-1, 0, +1) and the processing was done in Photomatix. I am just getting into HDR and so if you HDR gurus have any tips, I would love to hear 'em.


Cheers,

coscorrosa

shniks wrote:

Ron you should totally go to DV. It's not very far and I would love to see your perspective on the valley. Definitely go to Dante's View (it's around 5000 feet above sea level, compared with the valley where the lower point is 282 feet below SL). I kid you not when I say that DV is my new favorite place. My friends think I am mad!!! (well there might be some truth to it- I did bite a dog once who subsequently got rabies )


Cheers,

Thanks, I'll definitely try and check that out. I would be lost and confused the first few trips out there (the southwest/desert is a completely alien landscape to me), so I probably wouldn't come back with any great photos, but just seeing it with my eyes would be worth it.

I used to have friends that thought I was mad too... the key to avoiding that is to stop making friends. It's something I've perfected over the years, and I'm more than willing to give advice based on my extensive experience if desired