Day One
We were greeted on the opening day of the workshop with high winds blowing billows of sand across the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The conditions were too harsh to photograph in the dunes. To avoid exposing our cameras to the blowing sands we stationed ourselves along the road. Here we were able to use our vehicles to protect us from the strong gusts of wind and blowing sand as we photographed the spectacular sandstorm.
Two adventurous souls brave Mother Nature’s sand blaster to get a close up view of the action.
A Mesquite tree bravely weathers the gale force winds and blowing sand.
Day Two
In the morning we set out for the sunrise in the dunes. The sandstorm the night before had blown away all the footprints and any evidence that others had passed here before us.
With great anticipation we trekked off across the sand to capture the sand dunes in their pristine state.
When the sun rose, we were treated to an incredible vista of rolling untrodden sand.
In the afternoon of day 2 we ventured to West Side Road to investigate the salt polygons. Due to the large amounts of rain, the polygons from previous years had dissolved. On close inspection outlines of newly forming polygons could be seen in the salt flats.
From West Side Road we ventured up to the Artist’s Palette.
Concentrated mineral deposits adorn the hills at the Artist’s Palette. The weathered rock and oxidation of different metals create a patchwork of color. Iron rich Hematite produces the reds and pinks, iron oxides create the yellow, volcanic ash deposits form the greens and manganese is responsible for the purples.
This is a panoramic of the Artist’s palette. 14 photographs were stitched together in Adobe Lightroom to create a 380 Mp image.
After the Artist’s Palette we drove to Dante’s View for the sunset. This vantage point overlooks the Bad Water Basin 5,575 feet below.
The suns rays diffracted by the peaks of the Panamint mountains form a star burst effect. This is an HDR image combining 5 photographs in order to create the dynamic range needed to retain detail in the sun and the valley below.
Day Three
We arose several hours before the sunrise to be on location at Zabriskie Point so that we could capture an image of the Milky Way above the Black Mountains.
This Milky Way image is a blend of 2 photographs taken from the same spot. The Milky Way was captured at just after 4 AM. The foreground image was taken just after 5 AM as the blue hour began.
Turning our cameras to the West we then waited patiently for the sun to rise and illuminate Manly Beacon.
Manly Beacon is shown here in the warm early morning light.
After breakfast we explored the photographic opportunities in Twenty Mule Team Canyon and then headed for lunch in Stovepipe Wells.
After Lunch and a well-deserved rest we returned to the Mesquite Flat Dunes. The late afternoon sun provided some amazing light and created interesting shadows and patterns in the dune landscape.
Day Four
The last full day of the workshop began at the abandoned mining town of Rhyolite. Here among the ruins of the old town there were numerous photo ops. Late in the morning we paused for a group photo before heading off to breakfast in nearby Beatty Nevada.
On the way back to Furnace creek we found a nice patch of wildflowers growing along the road.
For the last sunset we returned to the Mesquite Flat Dunes.
