Car near Aguaberry Mine Camp, Death Valley
On our first evening in Death Valley last month, we ventured out to shoot a mine camp. It was the first time I had been shooting at night in a few months, so I was feeling a bit out of practice, but it was amazing being out under the stars again.
(Technical: This is a blend of two images, one exposed for the sky, the other for the light painting and car.)
Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley.
I have definitely been enjoying all the landscape shooting I've been doing lately, but I really miss photographing abandoned buildings.
Within the first 3 years of operation, 11,000 tons of ore, comprised of 15% lead, was mined here in Death Valley and hauled by tractor-drawn trucks for 45 miles, before being transported by rail. After dumping the ore, the trucks brought water back to the mine.
The mine remained in operation for another 46 years, but only yielded another 5,000 tons during that time.
Recently I've been experimenting with different processing techniques. While editing this image, I added the 'Spring' filter from the Landscape tab in +onOne Software's Perfect Effects 4, which added a slight glow on the dunes.
In the past three years, I took my first trip to the East Coast (and returned six more times), took my first trip to the Southern US, Portland and made two trips to Death Valley all in the name of photography. I have traveled with friends I've known for years and sometimes jumped in the car to drive hundreds of miles to hang out with dozens of people I've never met before. I can honestly say, I have been incredibly lucky to find such awesome travel companions.
On the most recent trip to Death Valley, I travelled for the first time with Brian Matiash, Brian Bonham, Ricardo Lagos and Matt Kloskowski (whom I met when we arrived.) Over the last year, I have developed friendships with them online and in person, so I knew this trip would be a blast. The reason it worked so well had to do with us having a similar sense of humor and not taking anything too seriously. I find that to be a very important aspect of the relationships I create. If we don't laugh together, it just won't work.
Life is far too short to spend time not hanging out with the people who make you laugh so hard your stomach hurts.
On this particular morning, we made the trek out to the dunes, despite the lack of clouds. For some reason, though I shot here during my last trip in 2010, I forgot how long the hike to the untouched dunes actually took. (Most are covered in footprints.) After walking for around 30 minutes, I decided to stop and take a shot here I blue hour was over. Shortly after I finished the final shot, the sun was up and lighting the dunes with an amber glow.
One this particular day, we had shot a cloudless sunrise at Zabriskie Point and feared we'd have the same cloudless skies for sunset out at The Racetrack, but we decided to go anyway. Thankfully, the evening turned out better than expected.
By sunset, we were the only people on the playa and though it was chilly, there was virtually no wind. A few small clouds moved in over the mountains as the sun went down and lit up in hues of pink and lavender. Taking our chances definitely paid off.
Sunset at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley.
Mesquite dunes at sunrise, Death Valley.
Just before dawn at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley.
Light painting on the Racetrack in Death Valley.
Twlight at Rhyolite, a mining camp town built in 1905 in Death Valley.
Badwater, a basin in Death Valley, is the location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below sea level.
Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley.
