Yet Another Death Valley Landscape

I'm starting to get bored posting my pictures from Death Valley. My car has not been working for the last month, so getting out to take pictures has been impossible. Here is another shot from Death Valley.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/9.0, 29mm, 1/200 sec
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Where have you gone mon ami?

Where have you gone mon ami? 

Is your old worn out Beat ghost

Haunting those back roads

And those desolate Cascade peaks. 

-Another Dead Poet

This was a rainy day in Death Valley. This was the road of welcome that we received. My old friend the open road can make even a rainy day a long enjoyed adventure for other friends to share. With each obstacle that was placed in our way, the adventure endures. Listen to me wax all poetic and such. Found this in my buffer directory forgotten and waiting to be rediscovered.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/9.0, 30mm, 1/200 sec

Trails in the sand

So we stopped by the Mesquite dunes and I walked out to take pictures while the guys sat next to the car not wanting to walk out to the dunes. I saw that the wind wasn't just kicking up sand, but it was also making really cool trails along the dunes.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.6, 34mm, 1/640 sec

If you rest, you rust.

For a truck that has been sitting out in the desert for a minimum of 58 years, this is pretty impressing. It's only surface rust, give this thing a paint job, and an engine and I bet it still runs. This was one of the cars rusting out behind Scotty's Castle. It was an old Ford so I had to take a picture.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f8.0, 18mm, 1/160 sec.

Backseat Driving

The view from the back of a car in the junkyard behind Scotty's Castle. As you saw in the truck pictures when I first started this post, there was a collection of old rusted cars behind Scotty's Castle. I really hope that they never remove those rusted out cars. They are fun for people to enjoy who go off the beaten track. Of course there were signs every 30 feet or so telling us to stay on the road which of course we had to disobey on principle alone.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.7, 40mm, 1/100 sec

A view from a parking lot.

So we came out of Mosaic Canyon and were coming back to the car. This was taken from the parking lot at mosaic canyon. Even from a parking lot, the views in Death Valley are amazing. Actually I took this while the guys had a beer break, because finishing a hike means you get to celebrate with a beer. I can't see any issues with that logic.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 29mm, 1/800 sec.

Photographic Amnesia

So I was looking at this image and I remember working on the raw file for it and processing it, however I do not remember taking it. I have complete amnesia regarding this image. I have no idea where it was in Death Valley. From the time-stamp on it, I know roughly where we were, but I don't remember taking the picture. I assume that this will happen more often the more pictures I take, but there were so many beautiful nature shots in Death Valley that I can't remember one specific point. So here is yet another Death valley shot. I am taking more pictures so I will diversify.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 28mm, 1/800 sec.

Hot and Dry! Hot and Dry!

Last time I checked, deserts are supposed to be hot and dry. Our first day was rainy and it snowed not far up in elevation from us. We did move down the mountain the second night, but we also spent the evenings in the cars the second night because it was too windy to get a fire started to stay warm. It finally settled down, and that is when I snapped this picture of one of the mountains in the park. I was an amazing view but the wind was furious from the perch where I took this so I was only able to get one picture. Next time I am hoping for better weather, but the trade off is if I go when it's warmer, it will be over 100 degrees. Well, great picture none the less.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 18mm, 1/800 sec.

Don't run backwards here naked at midnight

So this is at the edge of the Devil's Cornfield. I'm actually looking away from the cornfield and only getting a few of the desert wildlife that gives this area it's name. And although it's not like a regular cornfield, I wouldn't run through this one naked either. There isn't much to say about this picture, there were damn cars and tourists blocking my other shots so I had to take one looking away from the cornfield. I'm not upset though, I love how it came out. The mix of clouds, mountains, and distant desert work for me. I've also included another style of signature that I am thinking of. I stole this style from Lucky Bastard since he is moving onto a new style. I like it because it leaves my photo untouched.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 30mm, 1/1600 sec.

Chemical weathering and hydrothermal alteration

So the cause of all of the colors on the rock at Artist Drive is Chemical Weathering and hydrothermal alteration. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle. I've also made a little change to this image. A friend of mine recommended that I make myself a watermark/signature. I'm playing around with a few ideas, one of which is the one in this image. It's my family crest with JDA III 2012 © underneath. I's still working on it, but feedback = awesome. I did my best to make it unassuming, and I'm not even sure that I want to compromise my picture with anything. Maybe I can do a bottom border like Lucky does. We shall see.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/9, 33mm, 1/250 sec.

Chip off a slab and make me a kitchen counter

So during our Death Valley trip, we visited the mosaic canyon. Without giving you a full geological history, the walls of the canyon are marble. Now the lower part of the canyon is very tight, only a foot wide foot path at some points. This is higher up in the canyon where we decided to hike. There was a sign that said that the first part of the canyon was 1.4 mile in. So we obviously went there, but the sign at the parking lot said that 2 miles up there was more to see. We hiked the two miles and it was not as awesome as the first 1/4 mile. It was awe inspiring though. I took a number of pictures there, but I will only be posting a few.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.6, 50mm, 1/320sec.

Igor, I think we should call an electrician.

So, from the nail picture, I have already explained my personal enjoyment of antique tools. So I will probably be corrected by a friend who was there since I wasn't paying much attention to this equipment, but I think that this was an old 1920's arc welder. The handle just reminded me of something that would be found in Frankenstein's lab. We were all bouncing around the workshop checking out the equipment. We were like kids in candy stores. My friends also share my like for vintage and antique technology. It usually sparks conversation and if we drink enough, they may get a rant from dear old J.D. about what life was like in the olden days when I used to walk to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways. PS: I lived in los angeles as a kid. Not a lot of snow.

Canon 600D, ISO-800, f/5.6, 47mm, 1/60sec.

Where is the concession stand?

One of my favorite things about National Parks is the lack of commercialization. Yes the general store and gas stations bend you over and have their way with your wallet, but they are limited to one small area inside the park. If this were anything but a national park, there would be a concession stand selling Artist's Drive T-shirts, mugs, playing cards, and artist's drive smoothies. The reason the guys and I do these camping trips is not to purposely damage our livers beyond repair, but to get away from the trappings of modern society. We DON'T want starbucks, we don't want a 10 item or less line or electric carts for fat people. We want to rough it, enjoy nature and focus on life instead of all of us sitting around the boob tube watching reruns of It's Always Sunny. So there was a nice rant because I have nothing to say about taking this picture besides I got out of the car, clicked a few pictures, then got back in the car and took a nap. I will post my other Artist Drive pictures separately.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 18mm, 1/1250sec.

Dune, the sequel

So at first, this was my favorite dunes picture, but I had missed the first one I posted. This one has a tumultuous sky, but it lacks the bright definition of the dunes in the other picture. I eventually chose that one to post first and for this one to follow. This one had the sand storm which I though took away from the detail of the mountains. I'm not sure if I got this one level mostly because there were dunes going every which way and it was too windy to sit there and watch my level. I wish that I had gotten the mountains on the left side a little better.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 34mm, f/5.6, 1/500 second

Stop and smell these...

So everywhere I go, I end up taking pictures of the wild flowers. We had hoped to match up our trip to Death Valley a week after it rained, however we made it the day that it rained. These were the only wildflowers we really found. They are pretty and yellow, but I had hoped for a lot more flowers on our trip. Not complaining, great trip, but next time, more flowers. Gee, that sounds manly. Maybe if I say it in a lower register. More flowers please. Nope, didn't help.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 46mm, f/10, 1/320 second

Like a scar across the skin of the desert.

So, yet another road going through Death Valley. There were so many roads with so many views that Christian and I took hundreds of pictures from the roads. I have to say that I only appreciate the roads for making it easy for us to explore the national park. But from a conservationist point of view, they are like scars gouged into the skin of the desert. You have this wilderness and you lay down an asphalt track across it. What sense does that make to conserve our national parks? Well, I don't want to start a rant, I'm sounding like Edward Abbey instead of J.D. Abbey. I find the flat never ending roads boring, I needed a bit of character and the dips in the road give just that.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/500 second

I've got a sandstorm blowin' in my head

So the little dust devils and sand storms we saw in Death Valley were not that impressive, but you would tell a different story if you saw Christian driving through them in his new car while listening to the sand slowly eat away the paint job. The wind was starting to die down when I took this picture, but I love how bright the valley floor is while the ominous looming clouds slink through the skies.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 37mm, f/5, 1/640 second

Nailed It!

Well, I don't know about you, but I love to explore antique workshops. I am fascinated by antique tools. I just love to see how we got from a rock and a stick to a Skilsaw. So over at Scotty's Castle in Death Valley, we checked out his garage (nothing very impressive) but there were a few tools in the back. And sitting under the table holding 500 lbs of vintage electrical equipment was this board with nails in it completely looked over for years. So I got a mouse's view of it. I look at this and my mind imagination runs wild as to how the cement or plaster got on the nails. These are a strange shaped nail, when were those used. Could they have been part of the antique cars, maybe part of a truck bed? Well, that is just some fun with DoF and Nails. Again, not an HDR image and coincidentally Liz's favorite.

Canon 600D, ISO 200, 44mm, f/5, 1/60 second
Desaturated to monochrome.

You can't study the darkness by flooding it with light.

A sunset sandstorm to welcome us to the valley floor. After we had the extreme weather at the Wildrose campsite, we decided to move closer to the valley floor from the hills. We ended up at mesquite springs campsite. It was more like a parking lot than Wildrose, but it wasn't that bad after the first night when everyone left for home. We had 5 or 6 neighbors that day and it was great. So back to this image, I took this from the road on the way to our new campsite. I had to get a sunset picture and this is a very unique one for me. I finally figured out how to fix my off kilter images and adjusted this one counter-clockwise, then I took out the colors from everywhere but around the sun. I really wanted to give a good idea of what we saw. The sun was colorful, but there was no color anywhere but around the sun.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 53mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 second

Campsite #1

So, on our death valley trip, we chose the camp ground on the internet based on the lowest number of sites in the area. We don't like a crowded campground. So we chose Wildrose up in the hills of Death Valley National Park. We got there at night and it was an adventure from the first hour of setting camp. Christian's tent pole snapped from the wind and it was getting pretty frustrating setting up in the wind. We got to sleep and when we woke up, this is the view up the canyon. Could you imagine being the ranger that gets to live in that little cabin? I wish that there was some more blue skies for some contrast, but the detail in the clouds was great.

Canon 600D, ISO 100, 27mm, f/5, 1/60 second