The Dunes of Death Valley

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

Specifically, the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, or my personal name for them: Footprint Dunes

The forecast in the Tetons called for snow/rain/100% cloud cover for the rest of the week in my two week vacation, so I decided to make a slight detour to Death Valley (with a quick stop at Zion for sunset). I went from 10,000 feet and 10 degrees in Wyoming to -282 feet and 92 degrees in Death Valley! My previous trip to Death Valley was for a single day, and I didn't get to the dunes until after shooting sunrise at Zabriskie Point, and I wanted to fix that during this trip and shoot them at the proper time.

I expected some nice textures and shadows when the sun was near the horizon, what I didn't expect was how reflective the sand is after sunset or before sunrise. Some of these shots are under full moon light, others are well after sunset when the sand picked up the reddish glow from the sky, and the rest are when the sun was low on the horizon.

Of course by the time I figured this stuff out I had to leave, but I'll be back.

#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

#6:

#7:

#8:

torags · October 18, 2009

Excellent... Nice series.

Figure it out? Ha! You may never get it again.....

No foot prints...

I'm going again in Nov, now I can hardly wait...

schmoo · October 18, 2009

Really so gorgeous. It looks like the Sahara out there!

Having not yet been to DV, are these vistas in easily hikable areas? Or was the car pretty much right behind you? I know you work hard for your shots, so I'm just wondering. The idea of being someplace so hot and dry makes me a little nervous, especially as the dunes kind of look alike...

bryanj87 · October 18, 2009

Really nice stuff. I like the overall simplicity of the dunes, and the lack of footprints! Did you run into any sandpeople or jawas?

wfeller · October 18, 2009

Nailed 'em. Great shots!

-

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

torags wrote:

Excellent... Nice series.

Figure it out? Ha! You may never get it again.....

No foot prints...

I'm going again in Nov, now I can hardly wait...

Thanks, finding spots without footprints was a challenge, but I finally figured it out, just go about .5 or 1 mile west (toward Stovepipe Wells village) of the Sand Dune sign where everyone parks. You'll see some dried mud flats, head north on them and that section of the dunes was a lot less disturbed than the eastern side, even at sunset when a days worth of footprints had accumulated.

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

schmoo wrote:

Really so gorgeous. It looks like the Sahara out there!

Having not yet been to DV, are these vistas in easily hikable areas? Or was the car pretty much right behind you? I know you work hard for your shots, so I'm just wondering. The idea of being someplace so hot and dry makes me a little nervous, especially as the dunes kind of look alike...

All of these sand dunes are close together. You don't have to walk more than 15-30 minutes to get to the main dunes from your car. If you walk on the dried mud flats on the western side of the dunes it's easier (to walk and find footprint free areas), although the highest and coolest dunes are on the east side, but they usually have footprints all over them. I had a 100 oz camelbak water bladder with me, and I would recommend something similar. It's not hard to find your way back to the road, but it may be hard to know where you parked your car if it's dark, I just used my iPhone compass and was fine. Obviously you'll want a headlamp or flashlight. Watch out for the snakes which may be in the brushy areas. I would recommend going at sunset your first time to orient yourself while it's still light.

If you see someone elses footprints, then I would recommend using them so you're not mucking up the dunes more than they already are. And while it's bad to run into footprints, it's even worse to run into your own, so keep that in mind as you're going around. I usually walk around at the bottom as much as I can.

If you go during summer where the average highs are over 110, then you'll have to be a lot more careful, but when I went it was only 90-95 and not too bad. I'm actually tempted do go during summer when there's not as many people out walking on them, but 115 is insane...

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

bryanj87 wrote:

Really nice stuff. I like the overall simplicity of the dunes, and the lack of footprints! Did you run into any sandpeople or jawas?

Thanks, I didn't run into any myself, but I saw their tracks all over the place.

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

wfeller wrote:

Nailed 'em. Great shots!

-

Thanks Walter, no sidewinders this time

Andy · October 18, 2009

coscorrosa wrote:

my two week vacation

Wait... most of us think your whole life is a vacation, no?

dadwtwins · October 18, 2009

I love the different colours and textures of the sand

Cuong · October 18, 2009

Andy wrote:

Wait... most of us think your whole life is a vacation, no?

Our definition of vacation is different than Ron's (staying up for days and driving around for hours).

Cuong

coscorrosa · October 18, 2009

Andy wrote:

Wait... most of us think your whole life is a vacation, no?

That's the goal anyway! I've taken three weeks of vacation since the beginning of September, the most I've ever taken in a year in my life. In the last six weeks I've visited Arches, Canyonlands (and Dead Horse Point), Bryce Canyon, Zion, Page (Horseshoe and Antelope), Grand Canyon (north rim), Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion (again, one night), and Death Valley. I would have hit Crater Lake on the way back but it would have meant missing a sunrise at Death Valley, or Yosemite, but I hadn't been to Yosemite before and didn't feel a one day visit when it was completely clear would be a worthy introduction.

I still have about three more weeks of autumn colors around here before hibernating awhile, no more immediate long trips planned, but I might hit Zion for a weekend (flying this time), or Yosemite during winter for a week.

My car's been getting a lot of work, this from the last trip, the GPS actually stops recording the time when you get at 100 hours:

seastack · October 18, 2009

Wow, really, really nice set. That just moved up several levels on my list of places to go. Thank you for the great shots.

torags · October 18, 2009

I've been there a couple of times. Last time I ran across these at the Eureka Dunes. Any ideas who/what made them?

The cap is there for scale

For those thinking of going; I was on my way to Ibis dunes and I saw CA state Dumont Dunes. They do not appear on federal maps but are really nice white sand and very accessible. You can drive right up to them & there is a toilet there (all good stuff)...

seastack · October 18, 2009

#1 and #5 are especially good - love the soft light and equally subtle composition in #1, a good match, and the lit dune in the background on #5 just makes it, really nice. Can't help but wish the foreground had the accent lighting just a little further across but that's being picky and on an 8x10 print it's perfect.

)
Might give black and white a try on the graphically intense #3 and #4.

So I'm not sure which ones were taken under full moon?

kdog · October 18, 2009

What I like about these shots are the light, the compositions, the untracked sand, the light, the light and the light. Did I mention the light?

Stupendous shots here, Ron.

Cheers,
-joel

CWSkopec · October 19, 2009

Awesome shots, Ron!

I never would have imagined the sand would reflect the sky that much either, but they way you've captured it is gorgeous!

I gotta know, which ones were moonlit?
You got such good exposures on them, I can't quite figure it out!

dlplumer · October 19, 2009

I'm going...soon.

I've already commented on these in your gallery and on facebook.

Thanks for sharing much more than just your photos Ron. It's all the stuff you do from meterology, to trip planning, to losing sleep, to camelbacks, to etc. that help all of us.

ront · October 19, 2009

Really some fine photos here Ron. I always enjoy your photos and these are stunning. Thanks for sharing them!!

Ron

squirl033 · October 19, 2009

nice stuff, Ron, but i wouldn't call going from the Tetons to DV a "slight detour"... that's well over 800 miles! and am i reading your GPS thingie right, a max speed of 115 mph? naughty, naughty... (actually, i'm just jealous, my car has an electronic governor that cuts out at 108... :cry )

dmmattix · October 19, 2009

I am not sure which I am most impressed with...
The pictures (gorgeous by the way) or the GPS. 115mph max speed huh?? I have done a few trips that totaled 4K+ miles but I have yet to do one that exceeded 5K and in two weeks no less. Impressive. I guess it went like this: Drive ... take photos ... Drive ... take photos ... Drive huh? By my calculation you averaged nearly 9-10 hours a day driving and got all these great photos also. Impressive.

Sleep is after all entirely overrated. (JK)

As another poster commented in one of your previous posts about this trip, be careful out there.

Mike

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

Cuong wrote:

Our definition of vacation is different than Ron's (staying up for days and driving around for hours).

Cuong

What, that's not everyone's definition of vacation?

There are so many places to see and not enough time to see them...

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

torags wrote:

I've been there a couple of times. Last time I ran across these at the Eureka Dunes. Any ideas who/what made them?

The cap is there for scale

For those thinking of going; I was on my way to Ibis dunes and I saw CA state Dumont Dunes. They do not appear on federal maps but are really nice white sand and very accessible. You can drive right up to them & there is a toilet there (all good stuff)...

That first one seems like a jackrabbit, but I'm not sure, I wouldn't think they would be out on the sand. I'm sure there's a bunch of lesser known (and less footprinted!) dunes throughout the Mojave and Death Valley, I'll have to look those up.

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

seastack wrote:

#1 and #5 are especially good - love the soft light and equally subtle composition in #1, a good match, and the lit dune in the background on #5 just makes it, really nice. Can't help but wish the foreground had the accent lighting just a little further across but that's being picky and on an 8x10 print it's perfect. )
Might give black and white a try on the graphically intense #3 and #4.

So I'm not sure which ones were taken under full moon?

Thanks, the moon shots were #6 and #8 (both of them taken right at dawn about 20-30 mins before sunrise, so it wasn't just the moon but mostly the moon).

I had the same thoughts of B&W on those side lit ones, I'll give it a shot.

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

kdog wrote:

What I like about these shots are the light, the compositions, the untracked sand, the light, the light and the light. Did I mention the light? Stupendous shots here, Ron.

Cheers,
-joel

Thanks Joel! It took two sunrises and one sunset for me to get all of these, now I need to go back and get some more.

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

CWSkopec wrote:

Awesome shots, Ron!

I never would have imagined the sand would reflect the sky that much either, but they way you've captured it is gorgeous!

I gotta know, which ones were moonlit?
You got such good exposures on them, I can't quite figure it out!

Thanks Chris, #6 and #8 were under the moon (right at dawn about 20-30 mins before sunrise).

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

dlplumer wrote:

I'm going...soon.

I've already commented on these in your gallery and on facebook.

Thanks for sharing much more than just your photos Ron. It's all the stuff you do from meterology, to trip planning, to losing sleep, to camelbacks, to etc. that help all of us.

No problem Dan, hopefully you'll get a chance to play on the dunes a few times, as well as hit some of the other great spots (Zabriskie at sunrise for example).

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

ront wrote:

Really some fine photos here Ron. I always enjoy your photos and these are stunning. Thanks for sharing them!!

Ron

Thanks Ron, I'm glad I decided to make a quick stop at Death Valley. I could have got some good moose photos had I stayed in Grand Teton during the rain, but that gives me something to shoot for next year.

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

squirl033 wrote:

nice stuff, Ron, but i wouldn't call going from the Tetons to DV a "slight detour"... that's well over 800 miles! and am i reading your GPS thingie right, a max speed of 115 mph? naughty, naughty... (actually, i'm just jealous, my car has an electronic governor that cuts out at 108... :cry )

I did stop at Zion for sunset on the way over for a few hours, so it wasn't continuous (but after dinner headed back to Death Valley and got there a few hours before sunrise). I have no comment on the 115 except to say that there are some empty roads in Nevada...

coscorrosa · October 19, 2009

dmmattix wrote:

The pictures (gorgeous by the way) or the GPS. 115mph max speed huh?? I have done a few trips that totaled 4K+ miles but I have yet to do one that exceeded 5K and in two weeks no less. Impressive. I guess it went like this: Drive ... take photos ... Drive ... take photos ... Drive huh? By my calculation you averaged nearly 9-10 hours a day driving and got all these great photos also. Impressive.

Sleep is after all entirely overrated. (JK)

As another poster commented in one of your previous posts about this trip, be careful out there.

Mike

Thanks Mike! There was a lot of driving (Seattle to Jackson, WY, to Gardiner, MT, to West Yellowstone, MT (the long way as the Norris Madison road was closed), back to Jackson, to Zion, to Death Valley, to Portland, then to Seattle. The longest drive was Death Valley to Portland (I think 15 hours), that's also the stretch where I got a speeding ticket (thanks Lassen County, CA!). It was worth it though.

The Dunes of Death Valley

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