Best Death Valley photographer?

[Darin Boville]

I'm just back from a week in Death Valley and so the thought occurs to me: Who is the best Death Valley photographer?

O.K., let's broaden that a bit--who is your favorite Great Basin/Mojave/Sonoran desert photographer in any format?

I'm especially interested in hearing about photographers who really capture the sense of place in the desert rather than those who go for a more dramatic vision (e.g. greatly exaggerated near/far relationships, hyper color, everything shot at sunrise/sunset).

Who should I be looking at?

--Darin

[Vaughn]

I'm just back from a week in Death Valley and so the thought occurs to me: Who is the best Death Valley photographer?

I am, of course. And now you are, too.

[Chris Strobel]

Just search death valley on Flickr and you'll come up with thousands of good images that capture the sense of place in the desert. Artistic wise I like the death valley images of Edward Weston.

[Vaughn]

These and the above images are just scans of my older 16x20 silver gelatin prints from 4x5 negatives...non of my more recent 8x10 work )pt/pd and carbon).

[Bill Burk]

I'd be curious to see the work of any prospector/desert rat from turn of the century (1900) who might have directed his (or her but doubt it) camera on the terrain... You know, for the perspective of someone who lived the desert lifestyle.

[Darin Boville]

This is a very short list so far! Anyone else?

--Darin

[dperez]

For color work, I'd say Ben Horne.
http://benhorne.wordpress.com/

He really puts in the effort to come away with shots, and best bit of it all is that he records his efforts in video and probably has the best series of landscape photography videos on the web. He really does a nice quality job and his photographs are also excellent.

-DP

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Ansel Adams and Jack Dykinga

[Darin Boville]

Jack Dykinga

Did I mention the hyper-color issue? :)

--Darin

[QT Luong]

Richard Misrach ?

[Drew Wiley]

My favorite is Claude Fidler - not because he's artistically significant - in fact, he's largely
given up photography - but because he's the only fellow to seriously explore Great Basin
backcountry with a 4x5. Some of those spots are pretty tricky to get into, and it took
a higly conditioned climber like him to do it. I've even been to incredible places in Death Valley which exactly zero name-brand photographers have ever seen. Long time ago, when I was personally well heat conditioned. Just approaching some of those canyons
with an 8X10 a few years ago made me quite aware of the distinction of living on the foggy
coast for decades versus hot low desert, even in February! But when the inland folks visit
here in the summer, they're wearing coats while I'm running around in a T-shirt. So it's all
relative.

[David_Senesac]

To ask "who is the best photographer" of any region is in most cases misguided. Photographers that get their work printed and praised in magazines or put up in notable galleries are sometimes not those that have done the best work in a region but rather those with the best media and business connections. The business end of photography has always been a significant wall to many landscape photographers especially color photographers. Currently with the rise of the Internet and digital cameras, the whole marketing and media side of photography is in constant changing and evolving chaos. But even before the modern era there have always been many talented artists much less photographers that were ignored by the powers that be. Another issue is many long time large format photographers have years of work that only a small fraction of which probably ever gets in front of the public. Additionally there has never been a structure or forum for photographers to have their work compared with similar work of others even for places like Yosemite Valley.

Thus a better question might be what and where are some of the better publicly viewable large format images of Death Valley.

[Darin Boville]

No need to unmask my question! Just read the original post...The question is:

Who is your favorite Great Basin/Mojave/Sonoran desert photographer in any format?

Would love to hear about all these overlooked photographers...

--Darin

[ROL]

http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/SupportPics/LFPF/LFPFDVCartoon.jpg

[Darren H]

http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/SupportPics/LFPF/LFPFDVCartoon.jpg

That would make a great postcard! Of course only fellow photographers would buy it.....

I really like the image of you making the image. That is a cool shot in its own right. Like to see what you got that morning.

[ROL]

Who said the photographer is me? Crap, my subtle attempts at comic strip humor foiled again. Next time I'll wear a paper bag over my head.

Here is the scanned proof of the view in question. Because the negative was inadvertently underexposed by at least 2 stops and lacks shadow detail in the distant Black Mountains and not focused properly at infinity, it did not meet my criteria for a fine art print. Next time I'll put eyeholes in the bag.


http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/albums/Death-Valley/BlackMtsSaltFlats.jpg

Trail Canyon, Death Valley (proof) followed immediately, obtained by shooting towards the west at the same location, and exposing optimally.


http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/albums/Death-Valley/TrailCanyonDeathValley.jpg

Both images were FP4+ (PMK Pyro), taken at sunset in the record winter rain season of 2005, at the flooded salt flats – by an unknown photographer.

[Darin Boville]

That would make a great postcard! Of course only fellow photographers would buy it.....

I really like the image of you making the image. That is a cool shot in its own right. Like to see what you got that morning.

No good! It's a sunrise/sunset, with possibly exaggerated color--maybe even a near/far, wide-angle composition shot. See original post!

--Darin

[ROL]

No good! It's a sunrise/sunset, with possibly exaggerated color--maybe even a near/far, wide-angle composition shot. See original post!

--Darin

Imagine a thread that deviates from the initial OP. It was meant to be a joke on the sanctimonious nature of your thread (as you have proved). I'll remove the images requested by Darren H (but not the cartoon), so as not to offend your delicate sensibilities, any more than I already have. Yep, there's that chip. Small, very small.

[Darin Boville]

Imagine a thread that deviates from the initial OP. It was meant to be a joke on the sanctimonious nature of your thread (as you have proved). I'll remove the images requested by Darren H (but not the cartoon), so as not to offend your delicate sensibilities, any more than I already have. Yep, there's that chip. Small, very small.

Imagine a thread where a reply goes off the deep end. What's with the hostility? What on earth are you talking about? Do I need smiley emoticons after every sentence or what? :) :) :) :)

--Darin

[Drew Wiley]

Good ole Badwater. All that alkalai dust and clay getting into your gear on a windy March
day. Last time I was there it was filled with a lake thirty miles long with kayaks in it. Rare
sight from up on Augeberry Pt.

[Henry Larson]

I second Ansel!!

[Uri A]

These and the above images are just scans of my older 16x20 silver gelatin prints from 4x5 negatives...non of my more recent 8x10 work )pt/pd and carbon).

That's a damn fine photograph you made there, Vaughn!!

[Uri A]

To ask "who is the best photographer" of any region is in most cases misguided. Photographers that get their work printed and praised in magazines or put up in notable galleries are sometimes not those that have done the best work in a region but rather those with the best media and business connections. The business end of photography has always been a significant wall to many landscape photographers especially color photographers. Currently with the rise of the Internet and digital cameras, the whole marketing and media side of photography is in constant changing and evolving chaos. But even before the modern era there have always been many talented artists much less photographers that were ignored by the powers that be. Another issue is many long time large format photographers have years of work that only a small fraction of which probably ever gets in front of the public. Additionally there has never been a structure or forum for photographers to have their work compared with similar work of others even for places like Yosemite Valley.

Thus a better question might be what and where are some of the better publicly viewable large format images of Death Valley.

Tru Dat also..

[Vaughn]

That's a damn fine photograph you made there, Vaughn!!

Thanks. My original point, probably lost in the translation, was that we all should be our own favorite photographer.

[Bill Burk]

Did I mention the hyper-color issue? :)

--Darin

Why have a hyper-color issue? Following this thread I found a photographer who does that, but with a consistent quality and style that I can learn to appreciate.

This is the second time the past month I had to change _what_ I appreciate to include new people who I have come to appreciate. It's a weird feeling.

[Darin Boville]

Why have a hyper-color issue? Following this thread I found a photographer who does that, but with a consistent quality and style that I can learn to appreciate.

This is the second time the past month I had to change _what_ I appreciate to include new people who I have come to appreciate. It's a weird feeling.

Nothing wrong with appreciating new things--I do it all the time. What I am looking for is to learn of photographers shooting in the desert who's work sort of captures the sense of place of Death Valley and other deserts. Putting aside all other issues, when I look at most Death Valley photographs I don't get that sense of place. Thus my effort here to widen the search.

--Darin

[KenM]

Barnbaum. Love him or hate him, he's made some amazing images in DV.

[Vaughn]

...Putting aside all other issues, when I look at most Death Valley photographs I don't get that sense of place. Thus my effort here to widen the search.

--Darin

Just curious, while just a limited selection, how do my images I posted measure up in achieving a "sense of place"? Feel free to be cruel! Perhaps on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being strongly giving a sense of place...if you do not wish to go into any detail.

And of course, feel free to decline...but it would also help define for us as what you might think is a representation of a sense of place

Vaughn

[Drew Wiley]

Hyper-color generally means someone never photographed a place at all. They invented a
fictitious scene, typically with Fauxtoshop. Other than strong dawn or sunset light, Death
Valley is a remarkably difficult place to find a color film for. Many of those rare mineral colors are extremely difficult to reproduce. I know of hidden places in Death Valley where
the hues of the rocks are almost unbelievable, but which seem to evade every color film
out there. Doesn't mean you won't bag some really wonderful color shots in the place,
of course. But there is a reason why most of the classic work has been done in b&w.

[Bill Burk]

Hyper-color generally means someone never photographed a place at all. They invented a
fictitious scene, typically with Fauxtoshop. Other than strong dawn or sunset light, Death
Valley is a remarkably difficult place to find a color film for. Many of those rare mineral colors are extremely difficult to reproduce. I know of hidden places in Death Valley where
the hues of the rocks are almost unbelievable, but which seem to evade every color film
out there. Doesn't mean you won't bag some really wonderful color shots in the place,
of course. But there is a reason why most of the classic work has been done in b&w.

I'm with you with what I prefer. But sky blue, rock red can be enhanced to give a rich color scene without being fictitious.

I'd do it in black and white. Dry and dusty with subtle slowly-decaying human artifacts (remains if possible but that isn't the point - the point is to tell the story of someone who tried to make it, or someone who lived a life)...

I used to worry how to get in and out without dying... my cars weren't that reliable when I was younger.

I think it would be most appropriate to work the desert when it is at the extreme dry and hot, and with mirages. But no water, that just doesn't feel right to me (no water on the ground, of course I'd bring many gallons of drinking water).

[Drew Wiley]

In my esp foolish youthful days I've certainly been broken down many,many, many miles
from a paved road. I can remember crossing the DV salt pan on foot by moonlite. Then there was the time I actually tried to climb Manly Beacon from the base up. That was sure
nuts. Wonderful place, but with my lack of heat conditioning at this stage of life, I wonder
just how much of that backcountry I've ever visit again, if any. Sure hell on gear when the
wind kicks up, however. Clay and salt get into everything.

[Curt]

These and the above images are just scans of my older 16x20 silver gelatin prints from 4x5 negatives...non of my more recent 8x10 work )pt/pd and carbon).

Pretty darn nice work Vaughn!