For Christmas, Heather signed me up for a landscape photography workshop put on by Mountain Light. The workshop was taught by David Muench and was in Death Valley National Park. Since being in Death Valley for an afternoon back in February 2004, I've wanted to go back. There is so much cool stuff to explore, and different environments to see. Due to the time constraints of the workshop, I still haven't seen most of the park, and we'll have to go back again some day.

Most of our time was spent around Zabriskie Point, Badwater, Artists Drive and the Sand Dunes. In the mornings, we'd head out at around 5 o'clock to shoot at sunrise, then back to the Inn for critiques and presentations, then back out in late afternoon for evening and sunset.

Zabriskie Point is one of the main viewpoints in the center of the park. It gets very crowded with photographers most days around sunrise and sunset. We did our part to add to the masses.
Badwater is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. There is a small spring fed pool of water, but the entire Badwater Basin is made of salt, so the water is completely saturated with salt, and therefore undrinkable. The salt is constantly changing, and forms into all sorts of neat patterns that vary depending un where you are in the basin. The big snow-capped peak in Telescope Peak, with an elevation of 11,049 feet.
Artist's Palette is know for having lots of interesting colors. These are due to the oxidation of various minerals, including iron salts, mica and manganese.

These sand dunes are pretty famous, having been used to film several movies, including at least a couple of the Star Wars movies.

I had a few hours both before and after the workshop to explore. This was also the only time I got to see my campsite during daylight. The first morning I was there, this cute Roadrunner came right by. It was just about the only wildlife I saw the whole time. This may also be the last time I see my tent, as American Airlines lost my luggage on the trip home. And as it's been a week and a half already I'm not holding out much hope.

I hiked up Natural Bridge Canyon and Golden Canyon, and made another stop by Badwater, then it was back to Wisconsin.

Thanks for looking!

Jim

Posted on 2-19-2007

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