Inyo County

USA 2011 - Death Valley

Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States, noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence. The location was named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 20th century. The company's twenty-mule teams were used to transport borax from its mining operations in Death Valley.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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A view from Zabriskie point at Death Valley National Park. I took this shot in the morning as the rising sun was lighting up the folds and faraway mountains. Morning sun over the Zabriskie point is an absolutely religious experience and it’s something everyone should witness at least once in their life. The badland formations and the texture of and hues of the landscape is beyond amazing as the golden light gets there just becomes outright stunning. Thanks for visiting hope you enjoy the pics…

Moving rocks, racetrack Death Valley

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• Helen Keller.

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The first time we visited the Bristlecone pine forest in white mountains near Bishop we decided to hike the longer of the two available trails. While the trail is amazing and you get to see a lot of the trees these slopes of unforgiving mountains are famous for, we didn’t find much that will make a compelling image. So when we visited the second time we didn’t have much hope about photos and decided to complete the second trail available, this one was much shorter but the views it provides are superlative in almost every turn. Of all the Bristlecones in this picturesque trail, none is more famous than this probably dead bristlecone still holding on to the sparse amount soil on this mostly granite mountainside.

I had this shot in mind from the first time we were on this trail and it took me about 3 more trips before I got everything right. I planned the visit as a short car camping trip, my plan was to get to the tree before sunset and prepare for the milky way shot and then drive to North Lake campground and then sleep in the car and wake up for sunrise at North Lake. Everything happened just as I planned and except for not taking a sleeping pad for the car sleeping bit, it was a very rewarding short trip.

• Elizabeth Bowen

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Another shot from Big Pine, California. This one was taken after our ill timed hike to Mt. Whitney. We abandoned our hike as soon as the rain started and lightning strikes started to hit the mountain, and planned to get to a location we had been to before that had a good view of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I had noticed this location when we were coming back from the Methuselah grove hike at the ancient Bristlecone pine hikes.

Thanks for visiting hope you like this image.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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Ok this is the last one, I promise. This is the final image from my Dante’s view shoot at Death Valley. I think I have exhausted my reserve of shots for the time being. The timing is pretty good as I am heading out for a road trip across the spine of California for 4th of July weekend and will be passing through some of the most scenic locations in the country. I hope I will be getting some really nice shots to share with you in the near future.

I am really thankful for all the visits and the encouragement I get on these pages and really appreciate the support. I started out on photography to break the monotony of the corporate life and as an inspiration to get out and the fact that someone would enjoy pics I take is just the icing on the cake.

Wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July..

• Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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Since the first time I have been to Owens valley, I have been a bit obsessed with the beautiful meandering Owens river. Finally during our last trip, I found a location which is quire photogenic and quite close to the main road near Lone Pine. So I woke my wife up around 4am and we headed around to the location.

At this location the river forms a set of u-turns with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. As we were waiting for sunrise, I observed that the moon was about to set too, so we waited for the moon to come close enough. I kept on taking images as I didn’t know when the perfect alignment was gonna happen. This was the best of the bunch, hope you all enjoy this. Thanks for visiting..

• Rainer Maria Rilke.

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Owen's river is one of the most confused river I have ever seen, when you look at it from some elevation, it seems as if the river just couldn't makeup which way to go. So it meanders through the Owen's valley twisting around making u-turns after u-turns.

I had this shot in mind since the first time I was in the area but had no idea where to make the shot, I was thinking of getting a shot from the sierra overlook located in the white mountains drive but it was simply too far away from the river to make an interesting shot. While we were at our cabin, I was looking through the multitude of brochures we collected, I came across the amazing feature just north of Bishop called Volcanic Tablelands, a location known for its petroglyphs, but there were some vandalism reported and hence there were no maps available for the place online. The Volcanic Tableland area has no paved roads and its pretty difficult to get to some of these locations.

So we headed to the Bishop chamber of commerce visitor center and after convincing the lady there that I was indeed a photographer and not a vandal, she gave us some guidance on locations that would look have good views of the valley below. So we headed out that evening to the location and reached a fair bit before the sunset, and the view was spectacular. I made this stitch pano shot to emphasis on the vastness of this beautiful desert landscape. Plus we also got to see one of the most vivid sunsets we have seen in a while, but more on that later. Thanks for visiting and have a nice day..

I found myself trekking through the dunes in the middle of 33MPH winds. It was early in the morning when the winds were less violent, but when the sunrise hit the winds took a drastic change for the worse.

Death Valley National Park

USA 2011 - Death Valley

• Frank Lloyd Wright.

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While I have photographed the Mobius arch at Alabama hills a couple of times over the years, it never occurred to me to look for other arches in the area. For some reason, I assumed the basis of the fame was due to its unique view of the Sierras it provided. But on our last trip, I realized the ease of access made the modius arch such an easily identifiable destination online.

On our last trip, while on the hike to Mobius arch, I came across a location that had a beautiful view of Mt. Whitney. Since I was already late and sunrise was in full swing, I decided to take my images there. I saw the lathe arch while setting up and scanning for any potenetially hidden rattlers. The first thought I had was its size, and it was tiny. To get the shot, I had to get into a very awkward position, but the mountains' view was perfect.

I didn’t think I could set up my tripod here in the limited time I had, so the image was taken handheld with the focal length set to 15mm. At 15mm, everything in the foreground has increased size prominence, which should give you a clue about the size of the arch. I didn’t have high expectations that day of getting an exciting shot due to my tardiness, but the short hike revealed a wonderful surprise.

• William Barclay.

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Another shot from the Discovery trail located at the ancient Bristlecone pine forest. I took this shot to kind of emphasize how hostile the actual environment is and how amazing it is that the oldest trees on the planet actually grow here. This being the Sierra's there are no more than a foot of depth to the soil and these amazing trees specialize in growing on solid granite.

This little patch of the trail contains so many amazing trees and the slope is pretty dramatic with a view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the horizon. It’s a must visit place if you are ever driving on the beautiful Rt 395.

• Henry David Thoreau.

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An old sunset shot from Death Valley National Park. The location of this shot Dante's viewpoint and thanks to a wildfire which was going on we had an opportunity to witness an epic sunset here. This shot was made just as the sun went behind the mountains.

I thought a desert sunset would be a nice break from all the lust foggy shots of Kerala. Hope you all enjoy this, thanks again for visiting.

• Claude Monet.

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It's evident to anyone who ever followed my images that I am fascinated by deserts. I love visiting the desert landscape and photographing them. But one of the elements that I struggle with is conveying the emotions a desert landscape can evoke in an observer. A vast swath of the desert landscape is often devoid of any features until you look hard enough, it's like you have to coax the beauty out of the scene. I found a different challenge with woodland forests, there is too much going on, and it's difficult to single out a fascinating subject.

Then came the news of the super bloom in Death Valley due to the unusually heavy rains during the winter. My wife couldn’t take off from work, and my job was driving me up the walls. I ended up planning a quick trip to Death Valley NP. I had to get to the park and be back on the same day, as I could only get a day off, and the super bloom was such big news. All the accommodations, including campsites in the park, were gone. I made the 10-hour round trip to Death Valley and got to witness one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen, a desert full of life.

While it's easy to appreciate the vastness of Death Valley while you are driving through, I have had a hard time bringing it out in my images. This image was a try at emphasizing the size of the Valley. The road crossing over at the horizon and a vehicle that appeared right on cue hopefully convey the vastness of the landscape. I didn’t have any exciting light that day, but the flowers more than made up for it.

• Frank Lloyd Wright.

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Another panorama shot I made near the Owen's River near Big Pine, California. I took this shot just after sunrise and really loved the streak of light that was hitting sierra mountains. The clouds also had some nice colors and I really loved how the river forms a nice leading line to the mountains.

Thanks for visiting, hope everyone likes it.

• Wallace Stevens.

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I usually post only one picture of a location unless I change the field of view dramatically but for this shot I am making an exception to my own rule. This shot was another one I took during sunset at Dante’s View at Death Valley National Park. In the foreground is the Black mountain range and the mountains on the other side are the Panamint Range. The sun was setting over the Panamint and was lighting up the clouds with such beautiful colors, this had to be in the top 5 of the best sunsets I have ever witnessed. Thanks for visiting and the encouraging words and faves..

• William Morris Hunt.

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Dante’s View just before Sunset. We were at Dante’s view to see the sunset on out first day at Death Valley National Park. The view from the parking lot itself is spectacular at this locations but if you a hike a bit into the rocky outcrops you will get more appealing foreground interests. As we were waiting for the sun to set over the Panamint Range I noticed the Black mountains getting illuminated in amazing golden light. I quickly turned the camera and tripod around to get this shot. I also used a Lee .6 ND Grad for this shot.

Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States, noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence. The location was named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 20th century. The company's twenty-mule teams were used to transport borax from its mining operations in Death Valley.

• Edward Young.

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Zabriskie Point at Death Valley National Park. This is a wide angle shot of the previous image Iposted on flickr. Zabriskie Point is a part of Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in the United States noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago, long before Death Valley came into existence.

I had an amazing time here even though I had to wake up around 4:30 PM to witness the sunrise at this amazing location. The colors and patterns on these badlands formation is nothing short of spectacular. Please make it a must stop location if you ever visit Death Valley.

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Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park

• William Wordsworth.

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Mobius arch at Alabama hills area near Lone Pine, California. I have been to this location multiple times but my attention was always drawn to the larger than life presence of Mt Whitney. Its only quite recently that I was aware of this stunning arch and the view through it. So the last day of our tip to Big Pine while we were coming back we started well before sunrise and hiked through the small hiking path to reach this stunning location.

We had the company of two other photographers and it was fun to realize that we were all from the same neighborhood in LA. We waited for the sun to light up the mountains and then shot this beautiful rock formation. It’s a really easy location to get to and an absolutely must visit if you are ever in the Eastern Sierras.

• Robert Green Ingersoll.

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As I mentioned in some of my earlier posts, I have organized my image collection over the past few months. Today’s post is another image that got uncovered while ranking the pictures from our first trip to Death Valley National Park. My editing skills were pretty limited at the time, and I used to discard images that had heavy cloud cover.

On our first visit to Death Valley, we encountered one of those rare overcast days at the park. Artist drive was one of our first stops that day, and it’s the only location where we got a peek at the sky that day. When I first tried to edit the image, I could never get the colors right, but now that my editing skills have improved, I could get the colors correct to do justice to this stunning location.

• Dante Alighieri.

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As I started out in landscape photography, I loved catching the colors of the sunset as the landscape gets bathed in beautiful golden light. For some reason when I tried to do the same technique in the morning, I didn’t get the same pop in my images. For reasons beyond my understanding, my pictures looked rather flat for the excellent light that was available. Still, I persisted with the sunrise shots, which was not an easily achievable feat considering the fact that both my wife and I were not morning people.

Couple of things came into focus as I gained more experience with sunrise shoots. One, was that the magic actually started to happen before the sun actually rises and is usually over very quickly once the sun is about a quarter over the horizon. Don’t get me wrong there is still beautiful light, but the “wow” light only lasts a precious few moments. I am talking about the time when the first rays of the sun hit the tallest elements in the scene. It's also very important to get your metering game on point to capture it. The image needs to be underexposed to so as not to let the ambient light overpower the first rays. I have been in locations where the first ray is almost invisible because the horizon is elevated and there is enough ambient light in the scene to almost completely overpower the first light of the sun.

So, when I was at North Lake in Bishop to get my fall foliage shot, I was ready. My preparations included setting the focus manually and metering with the brightest point in the scene. Here there was so much difference in dynamic range that it warranted the use of a 2 stop ND grad filter just so that I could even out the sky a bit. The images came out much better than I expected, partially thanks to the excellent sensor on the D850 and its ability to handle so much dynamic range. Other than a bit of sharpness and contrast adjustments nothing much is done to the image and I am really happy how it turned out.

• Edouard Manet

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I didn’t realize it at the time, but we moved to California right in the middle of one of the most prolonged droughts the state has ever experienced. Our first trip to the easter sierras was in 2013, and there was very little snow even on some of the tallest mountains. By 2015 the effects of the drought were being felt everywhere n Cali. There were PSAs about conserving water. Dealerships stopped offering free car washes, and even at restaurants, water was only available after a customer made a specific request.

We had a summer trip planned for 2015, and I planned to keep the little town of Bishop as our basecamp and photograph the beautiful scenery near it, especially the meandering Owens river. I was a bit worried when we reached the sierras as we hardly saw any snow on any of the tall peaks that line the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Since the Owens river is mainly fed by the melting snow pack of the Sierra, I feared the river would be empty. Thankfully I was proven wrong; the river still had a decent amount of water. The same could not be said about the mountains, though. There was hardly any snow. I had scoured Google maps to find an accessible location for the sunrise shot near the river bank with a good view of the peaks. Luck shined on me that day as the moon started to set just as the sunlight began to pour in from behind.

• John Muir.

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Another shot from Volcanic Tablelands location near Bishop, CA. This was the location where w got to see a 360 degree sunrise and this was shot taken directly pointing at the setting sun. In my opinion the sky was magical that day and desert sunset lived up to my expectations.

Hope you all like it, thanks for visiting..

• Paul Cezanne.

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Another shot from the same trip. This one was taken at Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA. This place is one of the otherworldly locations you will find one the amazing Rt 395 along the eastern border of California. Most of Lone Pine is a high desert and has the typical terrain you associate with a California desert, and once you get close to the Sierras, the terrain usually progressively get rocky until you just about hit a huge granite wall. But at Alabama Hills, it’s a bit different, before you hit the rocky patch the road will start a bit of gently dips and sways as you pass through some very rounded granite rocks in odd shapes and sizes.

When I first saw them, my immediate thought was that these rocks had to be way older than the Sierras. But later I learned that these were formed at the same time as the Sierras but were lower in elevation and the nicely rounded shapes are due to erosion by wind and rain. Dozens of natural arches are among the main attractions at the Alabama Hills. They can be accessed by short hikes from the Whitney Portal Road, the Movie Flat Road, and the Horseshoe Meadows Road. Among the notable features of the area are Mobius Arch, Lathe Arch, the Eye of Alabama and Whitney Portal Arch.

• Margaret Fuller.

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One of the absolute joyful things that you can experience in a desert is the golden hour light during sunset. For an extended period, I used to shoot directly into the sun to get the most exciting and contrasty part of a sunset sky. But as I matured as a photographer, I learned to focus more on the softer side of the sunsets and sunrises. While the mountains are known for mornings, the desert is the quintessential sunset spot for me — especially the glow of the last light of the day.

This is why the eastern Sierras is one of my favorite places, you have some of the tallest peaks in the USA for sunrises and a high desert for your sunset shots, all you have to do is turn around. We were at the volcanic tablelands near Bishop. I was shooting Owen’s river with the sierras in the background. The sun has gone behind the peaks, and we were about to call it a day when this pink light started to light up the distant hills in the northeast direction. The light was just gorgeous, and I decided to add our car to the frame to give some scale to this unbelievably majestic landscape.

• Thomas Jefferson.

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Another view from Dante's view, Death Valley National Park. Took this shot just before sunset looking the other way towards the black mountains and the Panamint range. We were at the Dante's view location and I was reading the plaque which was located there identifying the various mountain ranges which were visible from the location when this happened. The setting sun broke through some of the cloud over and lit up some of the hills pretty far away while other hills and plains remained in shadows.

• David Viscott.

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I can say with confidence that I had this shot in my mind ever since the first time I drove on rt 395 and witnessed the Sierra Nevada range during a sunrise. The problem was finding a good outlook point to see the wide panorama. I tried the sierra outlook along the white mountain road but didn’t like the view, so while we were coming back from the hike at the Bristlecone pine forest I noticed this location along rt 168 just before it reached 395.

The day actually started pretty promising with us deciding to hit the Mt Whitney trail to Lone Pine lake after a hearty breakfast. Unfortunately we learned how important hiking footwear is on a rocky hiking path as our sandals were soon overwhelmed by small sharp pebbles. Also as we neared the lake we got caught in a sudden thunderstorm, so we decided to turn around and go back before the rain overwhelmed us. I was ready to write off the day but we decided to hit the outlook point we marked earlier on rt 168. We reached just in time for sunset and I had just enough time to make a 75 shot panorama. To the left you are seeing Lone Pine and Bishop, CA to the right. Clouds overwhelmed Big Pine so there were no colors straight ahead. This was an epic effort, and I have previously managed to pull off similar panos at Griffith park and Columbia river gorge, but this one was bigger than both of those images and the lighting conditions were changing even faster. I love how it turned out, hope you all like it too, thanks for visiting.

• Jean-Michel Basquiat.

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Yesterday, I watched a youtube Q&A session by a photographer I follow. One of the viewers asked about his strategy for identifying photo opportunities at once-in-a-lifetime locations. What caught my attention was the location he mentioned. It was Alabama Hills. It got me thinking about how lucky I am to live mere hours away from such a stunning spot. And the question is tough to answer at a location with such photographic potential.

My first few visits there mainly were centered around the iconic spots, like skull rock and Mobius arch, but of late, I have been spending more time exploring. And every time we go off into the rock maze, I come out with striking images of places and patterns that I have never seen before. So my recommended approach to Alabama hills would be to err on the side of exploring, and if you have the time to include a sunrise session, pick a spot and settle in. Let the light do its magic on the mountain peaks.

On this trip, a view of the sierras caught my eye while driving the movie road. I have driven on this road before but in the opposite direction. So I was a bit shocked to see such a majestic view of the Sierra Nevada range and Mt Whitney from what looked like a dispersed camping site. I guess I know where we are camping next time. Also, if you are wondering about the slash on the mountain's base, that’s the Whitney portal road to Mt Whitney trailhead and campsite.