Just another overnight drive to Death Valley to try and catch a sunrise on the Dunes.
Just another overnight drive to Death Valley to try and catch a sunrise on the Dunes.
Read less
Read less
Views
1432
Likes
Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Lines In Nature Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Genius
Love it
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
marcdewitt
March 31, 2017
Nice shot. This is different, a much cooler color temp than what you normally see here.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley, CATime
Sunrise but more importantly winter time in Death Valley.Lighting
Before the weekend rolls around I start checking the weather. If there is any percent chance of rain "clouds" in Death Valley that is a call for a road trip. If it has been windy or going to be windy then that ups the excitement. Clouds in Death Valley means drama. Wind means the dunes will be free of tracks. I'm a believer in the light of sunrise and sunset. Clouds cut the harsh light and allow for photographs throughout the day.Equipment
This shot was taken with my Canon 6D and the 24-105 mm lens it came with.Inspiration
A co-worker, Jason Gerard, printed out an amazing 24 by 72 inch panorama of the Dunes and put it up in his cubicle. I couldn't believe the shot and wanted to photograph the dunes for myself. Jason is also the one that got me to join Viewbug. He was right, Viewbug is addicting.Editing
I'm a Lightroom user. I usually bring up the shadows and take down the highlights and tweak the contrast and clarity a little as needed but I'm a firm believer in trying to reproduce exactly what I saw. A little "dehaze" helps to sharpen the photo but too much will shift the color of the photo.In my camera bag
Now I have a Sony A7R2 that is wrecking havoc on my hard drives and backup drives with the size of those raw files. But I still have the 6D and I put a long lens zoom on one and wide zoom on the other. The long lens will often be on the tripod and I'll hand hold the wide zoom.Feedback
Well, I will say that that shot came from about the third or forth trip to the Dunes. I've climbed all over those dunes and even shot a pano from the road to Mosaic canyon so I could plot which dunes to climb and where to stand. I continue to go back to the same place until I get the shot that I want.