Death Valley in June...

jsrucci

I finally got finished post-processing all of my pictures from our last vacation in June. First stop was Death Valley (yeah, I know, real smart). It was 120 degrees during the day, but luckily we tend to shoot in the morning & evening. Still, it was around 108 at sunset each day Here's a a few from there. C&C welcome, let me know what you think!

#1


#2


#3



The entire gallery can be seen at:
http://jsrucci.smugmug.com/Travel/California-and-Utah-National/23975536_qHMkcT

black mamba

Very nice series. Good composition. I'm drawn to the last one....strange valley floor. Imagine you're piloting a light plane. You experience engine failure. You've got no choice...this valley floor is your only option.

Tom

rwells

Nice series Steve,

The third shot is top notch

kdog

Excellent shooting, Steve. Terrific light in the first and third, with the comp being especially awesome in #3. I'm guessing the crowds weren't too bad that time of year in DV.

jsrucci

black mamba wrote: »

Very nice series. Good composition. I'm drawn to the last one....strange valley floor. Imagine you're piloting a light plane. You experience engine failure. You've got no choice...this valley floor is your only option.

Tom

Tom, that is the area called "The Devil's Golf Course", and those formations are actually all salt.

JC

You are officially insane.

Not that I haven't been there in August, but that was because I had crazy German's begging me.

Oh, and there are mudflats north and south of devil's golf course, if you ever need an emergency landing, not to mention the road.

Summertime is a tough time to photograph out there, I think you did well with what you had, your framing is very nice, and you definitely maximized what light you had, even with the dusty summer skies.

bristlecone

Nice series Steve. I too am drawn to the last image. Great color, balance.

Cornflake

I agree that the last one is very good. As far as golf goes, the devil can have it.

rockford

The 3rd one puts you right there, as if you were composing the shoot. Well done. !!!

jsrucci

kolibri wrote: »

You are officially insane.

Not that I haven't been there in August, but that was because I had crazy German's begging me.

Oh, and there are mudflats north and south of devil's golf course, if you ever need an emergency landing, not to mention the road.

Summertime is a tough time to photograph out there, I think you did well with what you had, your framing is very nice, and you definitely maximized what light you had, even with the dusty summer skies.

Yes, insane, or maybe I forgot about the weather when I was trying to pack everything into one trip. I wanted to try and get wildflowers in the desert (originally I wanted to make the trip in the April/May time frame.) However, our "main" target was Yosemite, but you want to get there when all the roads are open, so you have to wait until at least the beginning of June (actually could have been earlier this year but you don't know that a year in advance when you're planning). Figured we'd see what happened in Death Valley and it turned out to be a neat experience. Here's a couple more of the same area, after it got a little later & darker:

JC

jsrucci wrote: »

Yes, insane, or maybe I forgot about the weather when I was trying to pack everything into one trip. I wanted to try and get wildflowers in the desert (originally I wanted to make the trip in the April/May time frame.) However, our "main" target was Yosemite, but you want to get there when all the roads are open, so you have to wait until at least the beginning of June (actually could have been earlier this year but you don't know that a year in advance when you're planning). Figured we'd see what happened in Death Valley and it turned out to be a neat experience. Here's a couple more of the same area, after it got a little later & darker:

This wasn't a great year for wildflowers, so it's probably best that you designed your trip around Yosemite after all.

The first picture of this second set you posted is your best of the series I think, it's really nice. The framing gives you a lot more depth, it shows the vastness of the length down the valley, and shows off the turtleback shape of the mountain under the moon, which is conveniently placed at the crest, or rollover of the ridge.