My First Trip To Death Valley
I remember how excited I was when I booked my flight and hotel to visit Death Valley with a group of friends in 2019. It was my first photography trip there. I left all of the logistical details on where we were going to shoot to my friend who had done quite a bit of research. Since this was the first visit for most in the group, we packed in a lot over the course of 5 days. Our mission was to find mud tiles, dunes, the famous playa, salt basins, mountain views, etc. I will spare you from sharing every single image I took but I will share some of my favorites from that memorable trip.
I usually do not share location information in order to help keep a place as pristine as possible but Zabriskie Point is such a well-known spot in Death Valley. I had no preconceived idea of what this place looked like so imagine my utter surprise when I saw this other worldly looking landscape in front of me.
The way the land seemed to fold and bend was nothing like I had ever seen. It was such a great introduction to Death Valley and its millions of years old geology.
A panoramic image showing the incredible ancient geology with gradation in color.
A prominent peak with amazing bands of sandstone and wrinkles.
I zoomed in tight with my telephoto lens to photograph the light dancing across the earth tone sandstone.
Alpenglow at blue hour showcasing the layered landscape at Zabriskie Point
I was fortunate enough to photograph a pair of hikers in the canyon to show the scale of this place. They truly were walking among giants.
The dunes were high on everyone’s places to visit including mine and we were not disappointed. I was so overwhelmed when I first arrived by all the possible composition opportunities. Without much time to scout, I decided that the best chance I had was to find the highest dune near me and start climbing. And that is what I did in what seemed like hours. Hiking in sand dunes is hard!
From my new high vantage point, I could now survey the sandy landscape better and pick out some compositions to work with as sunset approached. It was the right decision as all of these images were taken from that tall dune I had summited. Whenever I get the chance to return to Death Valley, I plan to dedicate a few days just to explore and photograph these amazing dunes.
The dunes seemed to stretch forever against an incredible mountain backdrop.
The light in the late afternoon helped to bring out the curves in the dunes.
High clouds caught fire during sunset over this section of the dunes. Notice the lone figure to show the grandness of this place.
Cotton candy clouds mirror the dunes below.
On to our next location. The salt flats were cool to see in person. The basin where the salt deposits reside are the lowest point in North America. I remember the distinct “crunch crunch” sound as I hiked the long distance out to these geometric salt patterns.
The weather was not in our favor as we had mostly blue skies but this image captured at dawn with a full moon and salt patterns is my favorite from this location.
Next on the agenda was the search for mud tiles or mud cracks as they are sometimes called. They are not easy to find and do take time, patience, and lots of hiking to find but once you do, it is so worth it. In fact, I shot mud tiles for 2 days in different conditions. Next to the sand dunes, this was my favorite type of subject to photograph.
A wide angle lens (wider than 24mm for example) works well to take advantage of the distortion often produced with the wide field of view.
The quality of light plays a big role in the overall composition. I found that golden hour and blue hour worked well.
If you look closely you will find some coyote prints in the mud tiles. The fractured tiles here served as a great foreground for a sunset image in the desert.
Towards the end of our trip, our group decided to rent a 4WD jeep and go out for an adventure to visit a remote area with the famous sailing rocks. The journey to reach the playa is a long, slow, and often bumpy one but it is well worth it.
When you reach these tea pots, you know that you are close to the destination.
We spent the whole day there carefully exploring and photographing the rocks. If you are not familiar with the sailing rocks, they slide from one position to another leaving behind a trail. I believe it happens under some unique conditions involving wind and cold temperatures. Pretty cool to finally see the rocks in person. Just make sure to never pick up the rocks as there was evidence that visitors had done that unfortunately.
A pair of large rocks with their trails out on the playa.
Nothing quite like blue hour at such a remote place.
I will tell you a funny story that happened to me while out on those flats. During sunset, I had set my camera bag down and ran several hundred yards to reach another grouping of rocks that I had scouted earlier in the day. I was content shooting that scene during sunset when suddenly it got really dark. So dark that you could barely see in front of you. Where did my bag go? My heart was racing and my mind panicked as I tried to retrace my steps. I finally reached one of my friends in the group and told him the situation. He let me borrow another head lamp and off I went again into the darkness searching for my camera which contained the remainder of my lenses and kit. By some miracle and after some frantic searching, I had finally found my bag. I was so relieved!
I spent the next hour or so photographing the dark sky and the sailing rocks counting my lucky stars that things turned out just fine.
Our week in Death Valley passed by so quickly. I only scratched the surface in terms of photographing this impressive place. It is a location that I plan to return to soon to get immersed in the colorful sandstone formations, the formidable and ever changing dunes, and the stillness and solitude. Thank you for reading my post about my visit to Death Valley.
My friends Justin (maroon jacket), James (standing), and me in the foregound. Our good friend Travis snapped this behind the scenes image.