The Dunes - Death Valley NP

Of all the great places in Death Valley, my favorite is shooting the Dunes in the morning. The dunes, while not as large as the ones in Colorado (I believe), are still very impressive to behold. Last year, with Steve Kossack's group, I dropped a lens hood down one of these. It was a royal pain in the butt to get back up.

James

I just love the first one. Did you desaturate half? Or is that just the way the light was hitting?

Hey Julie,

No, I did not really do anything with the photos other than doing some compression of the curves. It looks pretty much like what it does first thing in the morning when the sun has just popped up.

James

Wow! I would love to have these framed and hanging in my home. They are beautiful.

James,

Great images. They reminded me of my only visit to Death Valley and I went back to look at my pics.
When I found them I was shocked to see that it was way back in 1983. Every few years I say I've got to go
back but then something always comes up. You have inspired me to plan a trip for next fall and/or spring
(it's already too hot for this spring).

Here are a couple scanned slides of the dunes late in the afternoon in March of 1983...

Hi George,

"When I found them I was shocked to see that it was way back in 1983. Every few years I say I've got to go
back but then something always comes up. You have inspired me to plan a trip for next fall and/or spring
(it's already too hot for this spring)."

Thanks for sharing - very well done. I particularly like the first photo of the dunes, but they are all nice.

LOL, it is amazing how time flies when you are not expecting it. I would not hesitate to make a 3rd trip to Death Valley - it is that amazing, and there is so much to photograph. I know that I have only begun to scratch the iceberg. As it was, I really wanted one more day out there.

As for going out there - unless you were doing it very soon, I would wait until fall or next Spring. The weather was too hot for me even now - though I generally prefer colder weather.

James

These are a couple of more shots that I like from the Dunes collection. I am moving slowly through the collection and hope to have something larger to share by this weekend.

James

James,

I really like these. Funny - I never considered that Death Valley would be such a great place for photos. I am going to have to get out there.

I personally like the composition and colors of the first one the best. The line of the dunes really brings you into the shot, and the bush is a nice focal point.

James and Chenthee,

Excellent write up and photos in your latest featured article, "Spring in Death Valley". I particularly enjoy, James on the Dunes, Cactus Flower, and The Race Track at Twilight.

Rich
aka Pooga

Hey Rich,

Good to see you around. Thank you very much for the feedback on the article. I think it is some of our best work to date - though honestly, Roman and Tony both helped in terms of weeding out compositions that were not quite as strong. :P

The shot that Chanthee took of me on the dunes is also one of my favorites. When Chanthee pulls out the stops...she really pulls them out.

James

The selection of shots that I like enough to show are now getting smaller and smaller. However, periodically, I pull one out that I really like that I have not looked at prior.

James