Short Notice Death Valley 2/21 - 2/23

[dperez]

WHO: Large format photographers

WHAT: Photography gathering: making pictures, telling lies, drinking wine, beer, and/or other fine elixirs.

WHERE: Death Valley National Park

WHEN: February 21-23, 2014

OTHER: Bring your own cameras, film, tripods, etc. Make your own food, travel arrangements. If you prefer to stay in a motel you'll need to make your own arrangements.

Itinerary (Subject to change pending input from others).

We will be camping at Stovepipe Wells. I will be leaving early morning on Friday in order to secure a campsite or two.

Friday 2/21:
Meet at Stovepipe Wells campground to set to up camp between 8-9AM.
Explore Mosaic Canyon, and/or Badwater basin area.

Saturday 2/22:
Sunrise @ Zabriskie Point (we'll hike out a bit - Sunrise is at 6:27AM)
Screw around in the badlands
Set out for Racetrack Playa shoot till its dark (or later)
Head back to camp

Sunday 2/23
Sunrise @ Mesquite Dunes (Sunrise is around 6:27AM)
Visit Darwin Falls
Optional: Visit the town of Darwin.
Head home

-DP

[Hugo Zhang]

Hi Dan,

Is it possible to get a sunrise shot of Dante's View? I had a 8x10 shot ten years ago which I like a lot and want to do a 1620 shot on the same tripod spot.

I think I am in and going to have an orgy with my big cameras ( one 16x20 and one 11x14) and I will camp with you.

My cell is 909-576-1199.

Hugo

[Hugo Zhang]

Dan,

I have checked the DV weather and it will be sunny. I have been waiting for some storms and really want to have some storm clouds in the sky. What do you think? I planned to go to DV in two weeks until I saw this posting of your.

Hugo

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'll look for your tripod holes when I'm down there in March. I guess Hugo's will be deeper since he's using ULF...:)

[Vaughn]

I am leaving Eureka on the 22nd and heading to DV via Eureka Valley Dunes (they make the other DV dunes seem like a kid's sandbox) -- I will be hitting Alabama Hills first, so I'll be arriving a few days after you leave...so it goes!

I think I will be spending most of my time there exploring canyons, as is my habit when in DV proper.

Have a great time!

If anyone hangs out longer -- I drive a silver VW Eurovan camper!

[Hugo Zhang]

Earlier excitement cooled by reality. I will go March 7-9. Enjoy your time and wish we could soot together next time.

[dperez]

Hugo,

You are correct, looks to be pretty clear, but you know how things can change there. It won't be that bad if the sky is clear. I suppose you could compose a shot with less sky in the picture and more emphasis on the foreground. At sunrise, the sun will be at your back slightly when looking down onto badwater basin. When we are there we can talk about it and make up our minds, play it by ear I suppose. We might get some cloud activity on Sunday. NOAA shows that winds will be around 8-9 mph on Friday morning, no wind predictions beyond Friday yet.

I will look forward to seeing you there.

-DP

[dperez]

Vaughn,

I sent you a PM.

-DP

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'm hoping it's stormy when I'm there late March!

[Bob Sawin]

I'm attending a workshop with Michael Gordon March 7-9 and then I'm staying in the area for a few days.

[ROL]

I am leaving Eureka on the 22nd and heading to DV via Eureka Valley Dunes (they make the other DV dunes seem like a kid's sandbox)

I haven't been out there in years, but have a series of very nice MF prints from several trips in the early century. I would say that the Dunes are a much more interesting place than DV proper, a true sandbox for creative photographers to play in. Shhh! – don't tell anybody. Have a great time.

[Drew Wiley]

You can really get sandblasted out that way in March, literally. Rough on gear too. I narrowly missed a massive flashflood there once ... was safely across the draw
in enough time to pull over and watch the road being washed out behind me; but anyone actually caught in it would have probably been killed.

[Andrew O'Neill]

You can really get sandblasted out that way in March, literally. Rough on gear too. I narrowly missed a massive flashflood there once ... was safely across the draw
in enough time to pull over and watch the road being washed out behind me; but anyone actually caught in it would have probably been killed.

Well, lets hope all is well when I'm there late March.

[ROL]

I used to hear stories all the time of workshop LF'ers who were still cleaning sand out of their cameras for months afterward. Eureka Dunes can be a Black Rock Desert, the week before Labor Day, kind of place for camera abuse. I don't know how you could even use a bellowed view camera out there in anything more than a slight breeze. Bring an umbrella or a wife (or both!) to block wind. Oh no wait a minute. Don't go. It's no fun and you'll be killed.;)

[Andrew O'Neill]

I have shot quite a bit in the dunes in southern Saskatchewan. Quite windy there, with lots of blowing sand. The wind was quite manageable at sunrise and sunset though. I have to admit though, I'm not a landscape photographer. I'm more into architecture. So if the wind proves too much, I'll use my MF camera... Not bringing my wife. She's too smart.

[ROL]

I have to admit though, I'm not a landscape photographer. I'm more into architecture.

Landscape, schmandscape. Landscape = portraiture = architecture. That's why all my rocks look like centerfolds, and all my centerfolds look like rocks.:rolleyes:

Andrew, I'm not sure you got this beta (omega?) elsewhere, but the Eureka Valley is a remote, infrequently patrolled, district of DVNP. It is primitive camping with NO services. My recollection is that the campground has a vault toilet and a couple of tables. No water. No shade. That's it. Pack it in, pack it out. You need to be self sufficient. Entrance from the west can be blocked by snow on Westgard Pass – if it snows, which is still possible in March. Then, the only route in is from the south through the main park. In either case, if it has been raining, though unlikely, travel will likely be impossible even with 4WD. The last 10 or 15 miles to the dunes is (was?) on heavily, permanently washboarded desert hard pan, requiring speeds sometimes less than 5 mph to prevent one's teeth from falling out. It's probably best to check with the rangers before heading out.

ED is the only place I have ever kept a filter (UV, or light yellow) on my lens(es) for the entire time I was there, in order to protect expensive glass. Some photogs bring whisk brooms with them to smooth over footprints or other evidence of human activity. Visitors bring cardboard so that they can toboggan down the dunes.

Please don't let any of these cautions dissuade you. Its remoteness is what makes it totally worthwhile, even (or especially) if you don't take a single pic.


http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/albums/Death-Valley/Eureka%20Dunes.jpg

[Andrew O'Neill]

That's great information! Thank you. Nice image, by the way.

[Darin Boville]

The last 10 or 15 miles to the dunes is (was?) on heavily, permanently washboarded desert hard pan, requiring speeds sometimes less than 5 mph to prevent one's teeth from falling out. [/IMG][/CENTER]

I find that if you go fast enough--around 40 mph is my FJ does it--you sort of ride the tips of the washboarding with not much vibration. Makes a hell of a dust cloud trail, though.

--Darin

[ROL]

I find that if you go fast enough--around 40 mph is my FJ does it--you sort of ride the tips of the washboarding with not much vibration. Makes a hell of a dust cloud trail, though.

--Darin

I was never able to find any comfortable speed trying to match the resonance of the washboard in either a Toyota 4Runner or a RAV4, even trying to add otherwise unnecessary 4WD. OTOH, I still own both vehicles with over 300K on them. That final bit into the Dunes is, for some reason, the worst washboard I've ever driven anywhere. Next time I'll have to use your FJ, per your generous offer (;)).

[dsphotog]

I find that if you go fast enough--around 40 mph is my FJ does it--you sort of ride the tips of the washboarding with not much vibration. Makes a hell of a dust cloud trail, though.

--Darin

I like the longer wheelbase of a Suburban, or an F150 supercab....
...Until I have to fill up with gas.

[Drew Wiley]

Panamint Valley had quite a dune field in it too, but I don't know if anything is left of the jeep track to it. Speeding over the washboards is sure hell on shocks and
alignment, and particularly unappreciated by those of us who might be nearby using a view camera- an appropriate situation for adding a slingshot to your camera gear kit! What I like to do to keep tons of dust infiltrating into the covered bed of the truck is to carry along a roll of 2-inch wide blue masking tape, and simply tape up any gap where the dust might get in. I love photography in the desert, but positively hate it once I start itching and nosebleeds from all the damn dust. And it's hard to keep out of camera gear once its into everything else.