Man in the oo.... eerrr..... Dune

torags

My attempt at a PJ piece..... C&C welcome...

I like dunes. Why? Maybe it’s the wind noise at sunset or the peace at sunrise, the nuances of the color changes at rise and set…

Hmmm… it’s hard to explain, like explaining an organism to a virgin…

I don’t like footprints on the dunes I photograph…. and that makes it tough. There are droves of photographers on the dunes at sunrise, believe it or not. They leave footprints.

So, to avert footprints I decided to visit Death Valley on July 5, when the temperatures were 120F. Advised against this, I decided on a plan to mollify those who cared about me.

In preparation I visited a garbage container for a corrugated box. My car has a lot of windows and sunroof, so I cut templates for the windows. I figured I would drive during the day in an air conditioned car; shoot sunrises and sunsets and sleep in the desert at night close to the shooting site.

My first site was Eureka Dunes, the fun began here..


Running late at the end of this 40 mile dirt road, this was the last shot I could get at sunset…




I like to get walking about 45 minutes before sunrise (4:45am). It’s twilight, and usually pretty visible. Each new place has it’s own personality when you watch where you’re stepping. I noticed a lot of holes as I was hiking my mile or so, out to the site.




I’m a city guy and I began wondering about who lives in these holes? Does a snake live in a 2” hole? (I don’t like snakes). And who lives in an 8” hole??? I mean 2” I can live with, but 8”? I don’t like animals that fit in an 8” hole. When trudging along and I unintentionally cave one in; does the monster get mad??

This is the kind of wildlife I can live with…




I ask you… How big an animal that leaves a footprint this big (and can he fit into an 8” hole?)




Since I start before sunrise I never really know where the sun will break (since I’m new in the neighborhood). I saw the sun on a hill behind the dunes and watched it creep down the mountain to hit the dunes. Then magic happens, the dunes light up.


A dune shot before sunrise..




I like to hike to the furthest point and shoot my way out as early light develops. This is a shot when the early light developed.




Notice , no footprints…….. this ended my Eureka Dunes shots, next up…. Dumont Dunes…

Meanwhile , I’m outta here…




Rags

PS... A B&W for BD's crowd..

Tim Kamppinen

Cool shots, but... where are the People?

Also, explaining an organism to a virgin isn't that difficult, thousands of elementary school teachers do it every year. Explaining why a virus is not an organism is somewhat harder... ; )

Art Scott

Nice series.....

What lives in a 2" diameter hole.....hmmmm....bugs, spiders, scorpions,snakes.......

What lives in an 8" hole........really huge bugs,spiders, scorpions, badgers, and GHILIA MONSTERS.....pretty but no fun to play with that grinding mouth............

Richard

torags wrote:

I ask you… How big an animal that leaves a footprint this big (and can he fit into an 8” hole?)

A Nikon shooter, obviously.

Nice pics and story. I moved this to the Landscapes forum, which seemed more appropriate.

torags

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

Cool shots, but... where are the People?

Also, explaining an organism to a virgin isn't that difficult, thousands of elementary school teachers do it every year. Explaining why a virus is not an organism is somewhat harder... ; )

Good question. But what is "photo journalism"? I asked myself that question before posting.

Does the phrase limit subjects to people, or city streets?

Words failed in my organism class....

Thanks for looking

Rags

jeffmeyers

Cool series. I love to dune shots!

schmoo

I really love your take on PJ. Death Valley in July! I feel faint just thinking about it.

thapamd

What a fun and artistic set of images! Nice!

dbd

torags wrote:

I’m a city guy and I began wondering about who lives in these holes? Does a snake live in a 2” hole? (I don’t like snakes). And who lives in an 8” hole??? I mean 2” I can live with, but 8”? I don’t like animals that fit in an 8” hole. When trudging along and I unintentionally cave one in; does the monster get mad??


Meanwhile , I’m outta here…


Rags

Kangaroo rats live in 2" holes. Kit foxes live in 8" holes and eat kangaroo rats. Looks like a set of kit fox tracks parallel yours into the lower left corner of this picture. The kit fox is the smallest N American fox at about the size of a small house cat and has the largest ears for their size of any of the foxes. I see them at the lower elevations along the road east from Big Pine.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

torags

dbd wrote:

Kangaroo rats live in 2" holes. Kit foxes live in 8" holes and eat kangaroo rats. Looks like a set of kit fox tracks parallel yours into the lower left corner of this picture. The kit fox is the smallest N American fox at about the size of a small house cat and has the largest ears for their size of any of the foxes. I see them at the lower elevations along the road east from Big Pine.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

Thanks Dale. What do you figure left the print my cam cap is in?

Here's another one. This print was deep (3" +/-), it looked like he dug in his paw when making a fast turn

dbd

Tracks
Rags

The ubiquitous creature in those parts, from below sea level to the tops of peaks, is the coyote. Just as the coyote is a threat to small cats at the edges of cities, out there it is a threat to small cat sized animals as well as smaller prey. Track sizes and shapes can vary greatly in media like loose sand and snow. A coyote trail would look similar to the kit fox tracks but with the stride scaled up larger. Wind will alter track size but not the distance between tracks.

The first time I visited Eureka Dunes was on Christmas Day in 1974 in my new (to me) desert ready '67 VW bus. I got stuck in the sand and learned the utility of a second jack and half a dozen boards (I did have a shovel). That made my 'desert ready' more meaningful. Hopefully, what doesn't kill you makes you smarter.

Dale B. Dalrymple