Death Valley 2013, Day 05

A Return to the Dunes and a Bonus

The dunes in Death Valley produce some of the most iconic images in the park. Undulations in the knife ridges, the way the light plays off on either side, the depth of layers all contribute to the magic of this location.

One has to get there early or stay late to catch all this. Once the sun is above a certain level above the horizon, it all flattens out. Sure, it is still impressive, but not in the same way as the ends-of-the-day hours.

Because the dunes are so close to our hotel, we got to “sleep in” and met in our cars at 6:00.

Our participants already knew what the dunes could produce,not only from their own photographs but from those of their confrères.

They scattered, and when Arnie and I could find them, we checked in. At this point, however, they should be able to remember most of what we taught them.

We had agreed to meet for the group shot at a certain time, and as i walked back with one of our participants, I kept looking back. I had an image in mind and kept looking for it.

“Go on if you want. I need to make this photograph.”

But he stayed, This was not