Chasing Light in Death Valley
A lone photographer getting the last light of the day in Death Valley National Park. Footprints scatter Mesquite Dunes after a long week of no strong wind. Th...
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A lone photographer getting the last light of the day in Death Valley National Park. Footprints scatter Mesquite Dunes after a long week of no strong wind. The sun had set, and time was tight. This was shot on Dec 1, 2015.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Awards
People's Choice in Take A Hike Photo Challenge
People's Choice in People Barely There Photo Challenge
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Contest Finalist in 600 Photographers Photo Contest
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Superb Composition
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Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Thank you everyone who voted in the photo challenge. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share my experience with you. This photo was shot at Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park. One of my favorite places to photograph landscape. It's very isolated and allows me to connect with the environment without distractions.Time
The shot was taken just after sunset on a cloudy day in December 2015. That's my favorite time to shoot landscapes as the camera's long exposure often reveals many colors and detail that the eye can't see.Lighting
After sunset time is tight. The light fades fast in the winter months, and I only had a brief period to get a good composition. About 300 meters to the North was the photographer you see in the photo. He too was chasing the light, and working the scene before the shadows vanished with the light. With this composition, I decided to keep the clouds, mountain, tall dune, and little dune in the image to create a layering effect for depth. The huge dune and photographer provide the scale of the shot as well as the main subject. The telephoto lens provided the compressed layers to exaggerate the background.Equipment
I used a Nikon D7100 and Nikon 18-140mm lens. Shot at 140mm, f/16, ISO 100, on a 3LT Tony tripod. With some weight for stabilization.Inspiration
Not much was happening facing the sun. But to the North was the face of the large dunes and the lone photographer about 300m away. By that time all the other people were gone, and that photographer was making his way back to the parking area. I learned from the last time, it's difficult to get a good composition from the top of those dunes. So while at lower elevation I was able to use the large dunes as a background, along with more shadow detail during the sunset. Just so happens this photographer was in all the shots facing North. Rather than Photoshop him out, I kept him in as a prop to show the scale of the large dunes in Death Valley.Editing
In most of my landscapes I do panorama, and a lot of post processing. With this single photo: I just cropped a little to frame it up; Increased the contrast to bring out the shadow of the dunes; De-saturated the blue in the sky and reduced the red/magenta of the mountains to put more emphasis on the dunes and photographer. And finally, I fine tuned the hue with brightnes to keep the color of the sand dune as real as possible.In my camera bag
When I go out on hikes for Landscape in the day/sunset, I pack as light as possible. My main camera Nikon D7100, and 18-140mm lens. A backup/time lapse camera D3300 with Tokina 12-28mm lens. A nodal rail and L-Bracket for the D7100 to shoot panoramas. Two tripods one large, and one small. If I'm going to be out shooting Galaxy, I'll bring the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. All this with food/water, appropriate attire and other basic survival stuff like flashlights, 1st aid, etc.Feedback
For those that want a fun low cost vacation, I recommend Landscape Photography. I also recommend shooting in the good light (sunset, sunrise, twilight, night). Also, research the place you plan to go. And work the area when you get there: look around 360 degrees, and find the best light and compositions. The more you experience Landscape Photography, your 7 senses will become acute to the air you breath, the taste of the wind, the sounds of creatures, and the feel of the sun. Also, the more you shoot at one location, the better you'll see the compositions, and know where the good light will be. If you haven't shot landscape in a National Park, give it a try, plan accordingly, get your gear out, and hit the road. It's like taking a vacation or going on a trip. It's a lot of fun.
