Happy New Year from Death Valley!

Sure I had just visited Death Valley a couple of weeks eralier, but is it possible for a person to bask in the golden light in that endless landscape, or gaze up at those infinite stars too often?

This image was captured only steps from one of the most popular viewpoints in Death Valley National Park, yet I’ve never seen photos taken from this perspective. Of course I had to descend a slot canyon and climb down a 12′ dry waterfall, then find another way out after dark… but having gotten out, I now know the easier and safer way to get there!

Heavy morning frost on Eureka Dunes. The dunes are among the tallest in the United States, yet they are isolated enough from the rest of the park that I’ve never seen a Death Valley photography tour that visits them, even though the site is one of the most photogenic in the park.

A jet from China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station approaches the campground at Eureka Dunes in Death Valley roughly 150 feet off the ground.

I often see these kinds of layered dune patterns in sandstone in Utah and Arizona, but this time I found them in sand dunes, before they’ve turned to stone!

Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon

Kids will help you find arches in the Alabama Hills.

Kids will also demonstrate the best use for arches in the Alabama Hills.

This was an exposure of nearly 4.5 minutes giving the clouds that soft, streaking look, and at f/22, giving the moon the star effect.

I don’t yet have dates nailed down to offer a Death Valley tour this year, but if you’re interested in going, contact me and we may be able to work something out. I’ll probably be visiting in March when wildflowers will add color to the park’s incredible landscapes. Most photography tours to Death Valley don’t visit the Eureka Dunes or The Racetrack, arguably the two best sites in Death Valley. I can’t imagine visiting the park without them!