Death Valley

SusanB · April 11, 2005

I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to see and photograph Death Valley for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Mother Nature is awesome- what else can I say? This is my first time trying landscape photography and the first time that I used a circular polarizer- now I'm sold on it.
The whole gallery is here: http://susanb.smugmug.com/gallery/455072

There is a big variety of sites to view, from the flower fields

in a lot of wind too

amidst the majesty of the hills and mountains

to the water filled for the first time in 500 years, Lake Manly

to the surrounding Panamint mountains

to the sand dunes

to Death Valley junction preserved in time

across from the Amargosa Hotel and Opera House

Thanks for looking,

Susan

Sandy · April 11, 2005

Incredible views....a benefit of the rain this year. I'm going to foward this link to my neighbor who really wanted to make the trip.

bfjr · April 11, 2005

Excellent Set Susan
Don't have a favorite cause I like each one

thanks for the views

lynnesite · April 12, 2005

bfjr wrote:

Excellent Set Susan
Don't have a favorite cause I like each one

thanks for the views

Good work, enjoyed seeing them with commentary, instead of clicking over in smugmug. Sorry I couldn't go with you!

SusanB · April 12, 2005

SusanB wrote:

I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to see and photograph Death Valley for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Mother Nature is awesome- what else can I say? This is my first time trying landscape photography and the first time that I used a circular polarizer- now I'm sold on it.
The whole gallery is here: http://susanb.smugmug.com/gallery/455072

There is a big variety of sites to view, from the flower fields

Thanks for looking,
Susan

Thanks for the comments everyone, I'm so glad that you are enjoying them.

Susan

aero-nut · April 12, 2005

Very nice shots! I need to get my butt up there this year. Thanks for sharing.

USAIR · April 12, 2005

Susan
Beautiful photos
Very colorful spring shots

Thanks
Fred

gpgold · April 12, 2005

SusanB wrote:

I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to see and photograph Death Valley for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Mother Nature is awesome- what else can I say? This is my first time trying landscape photography and the first time that I used a circular polarizer- now I'm sold on it.
The whole gallery is here: http://susanb.smugmug.com/gallery/455072

A lovely collection of shots. I was lucky enough to get there too. And if this is your first landscape outing you have a great natural talent.

regards,

Gary

SusanB · April 14, 2005

gpgold wrote:

SusanB wrote:

I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to see and photograph Death Valley for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Mother Nature is awesome- what else can I say? This is my first time trying landscape photography and the first time that I used a circular polarizer- now I'm sold on it.
The whole gallery is here: http://susanb.smugmug.com/gallery/455072

A lovely collection of shots. I was lucky enough to get there too. And if this is your first landscape outing you have a great natural talent.

regards,

Gary

Oh my, thank you Gary! <blushing> I have had a try at the local poppies, the local beach scene- mostly for the folks there and the birds, a couple of suburban scapes. DV is the first time that I went out to capture the vistas of terra firma and it is going to be very difficult to top, if at all, considering the incredible diversity that kept unfolding before me as I traveled up highway 178 at such a rare moment in time after the unprecendented rains. I did have the benefit of asking another photographer about the use of a polarizer, and the circular polarizer was a wondrous thing to bring out the blue skies and sharpness in the images.

Thanks so much for your kind and most encouraging comments,

Susan

gpgold · April 14, 2005

SusanB wrote:

Oh my, thank you Gary! <blushing> I have had a try at the local poppies, the local beach scene- mostly for the folks there and the birds, a couple of suburban scapes. DV is the first time that I went out to capture the vistas of terra firma and it is going to be very difficult to top, if at all, considering the incredible diversity that kept unfolding before me as I traveled up highway 178 at such a rare moment in time after the unprecendented rains. I did have the benefit of asking another photographer about the use of a polarizer, and the circular polarizer was a wondrous thing to bring out the blue skies and sharpness in the images.

Thanks so much for your kind and most encouraging comments,

Susan

Susan,

I drove to Tahoe two weeks ago (instead of flying) for a business trip. 20 hours in the car over three days (alone) because we have been blessed with incredible sights this Spring. The Mojave - stunning, the Sierra - amazing!
Am I correct in assuming all your shots were with the 1D? If so I need that camera. The detail is stunning and I love to make large (Super A3) prints.

regards,

Gary

4labs · April 15, 2005

These are all wonderful, Thnxs for sharing. You are very fortunate to be able to capture such a unique environment.

SusanB · April 15, 2005

gpgold wrote:

Susan,

I drove to Tahoe two weeks ago (instead of flying) for a business trip. 20 hours in the car over three days (alone) because we have been blessed with incredible sights this Spring. The Mojave - stunning, the Sierra - amazing!
Am I correct in assuming all your shots were with the 1D? If so I need that camera. The detail is stunning and I love to make large (Super A3) prints.

regards,

Gary

Wow, that's really cool that you have had the opportunity to take in all of these sights and environments.

Actually the images in the DV gallery are about equal between the D60 and the 1D ll. My first digital slr was a not very used D60 that I got about a year and a half ago. Due to less than satisfactory focus ability in low light and slow focus trying to capture moving objects, I was ready for the 1D about a year later. Since I did not want to get dust on the sensors, I put the 24-70 on the 1D with its 1.3 crop factor and, the 70-200 4.0 on the D60 for telephoto with its 1.6 crop factor, to get the widest range possible. For the quick at dusk shots the night before at the hotel, I used the 1D with the 35 1.4. All of the lenses had the circular polarizer on them. I'm so glad that I had the D60 cleaned and a blown pixel fixed at Canon Irvine to give me this system. I post processed with PSCS- nothing complicated since I'm really unsophisticated at PS. The tiff files with either camera are quite large and I'm sure will print just fine up to poster size with lots of info to spare. I always shoot in RAW because I need all of the help that I can get! After doing the post stuff, I convert the RAW to 16 bit tiff, then I convert to 8 bit and jpg to put on the web site.

Shoot, I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about! I've learned tons form these forums over the last year and a half.

HTH,

Susan

SusanB · April 15, 2005

SusanB wrote:

Wow, that's really cool that you have had the opportunity to take in all of these sights and environments.

Actually the images in the DV gallery are about equal between the D60 and the 1D ll. My first digital slr was a not very used D60 that I got about a year and a half ago. Due to less than satisfactory focus ability in low light and slow focus trying to capture moving objects, I was ready for the 1D about a year later. Since I did not want to get dust on the sensors, I put the 24-70 on the 1D with its 1.3 crop factor and, the 70-200 4.0 on the D60 for telephoto with its 1.6 crop factor, to get the widest range possible. For the quick at dusk shots the night before at the hotel, I used the 1D with the 35 1.4. All of the lenses had the circular polarizer on them. I'm so glad that I had the D60 cleaned and a blown pixel fixed at Canon Irvine to give me this system. I post processed with PSCS- nothing complicated since I'm really unsophisticated at PS. The tiff files with either camera are quite large and I'm sure will print just fine up to poster size with lots of info to spare. I always shoot in RAW because I need all of the help that I can get! After doing the post stuff, I convert the RAW to 16 bit tiff, then I convert to 8 bit and jpg to put on the web site.

Shoot, I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about! I've learned tons form these forums over the last year and a half.All of the lenses, extender are canon.

HTH,

Susan

Oops, I forgot to add that I had the 1.4 extender on the 70-200. I know that there has been discussion as to the sharpness of the extenders. I'm very happy with the 1.4.

Susan

Steve Cavigliano · April 15, 2005

Awesome Susan

I just love the wildflower and dunes shots

So many goden blossoms, they're gonna have to rename it to Live Valley........lol

Not only did you pick the perfect time to visit for wildflowers, you also beat the heat

Thanks for sharing,
Steve

Death Valley

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