Joshua Tree National Park, California

FEB 13, 14 & 15

Grabbed a quick meal at a place called Bakkers which doubles for a TexMex take away. I ordered about the only thing which looked palatable, a scrambled egg barito. The girl that served me had the same name as my girlfriend, Jolanda. The barito with the eggs actually tasted OK with the exception of an evil chilly flavored sauce which I discovered after the third bite!

Traveled south east to Joshua Tree National Park where we planned to camp for three nights. Stopping at the ranger station late in the afternoon to sign in, I wasn’t too impressed with the park service officers. They were unfriendly and not very helpful, and the park shop didn’t stock the t-shirt I wanted in size medium – there were stacks in size extra large though!

As we were camping in the park we inspected several of the camping sites hoping to choice a site off the beaten track amongst the rocks and away from the wind which had been persistent throughout the day. Whilst driving the loop road we sighted a coyote lying on one of the large rocks beside the road. Pulling to the side for a better look we were horrified when a huge ranger truck pulled up alongside us blocking the view to the animal. The ranger demanded to know the reason we had stopped off the road. He barked at us that stopping was not allowed and any offense would result in a penalty (infringement fine). I have observed this behavior with American Park Rangers in the past; they dislike vehicles stopping for people to see the animals, unless you stop in an authorized area (where there are no animals). I observed rangers in Joshua Tree booking several cars illegally parked alongside the road (their occupants no doubt bushwalking) and also noted that rangers patrolled the road and campsites day and night.

Eventually we found a nice camp site and after setting up the tent made our way to the Cholla cactus Garden in the hope of catching the last rays of sunlight backlighting the cactus. The cactus garden was lovely; hundreds of Cholla cactus covered a flat plain which receded into a mountain range. Unfortunately, the light was low required long shutter speeds and the persistent wing was moving the cactus about a little to much to facilitate a good photograph. The same windy condition persisted throughout the night causing out planned star trail work to be postponed. Instead of photographing the cactus garden we doubled back and found several Joshua Tree silhouetted by the sunset.

The next morning I awoke to the chattering and yelping of several coyotes as they traversed the campsite – probably in search of scraps left by other campers. A number of bird calls were also heard in the pre-dawn along with the raucous call of a couple of ravens.

Today we scouted the area for possible early morning and afternoon photographs. The Joshua trees are amazing and take hundreds of years to fully grow to a height higher than 20 feet. The trees are a member of the Lillie family, and evolved during the Cretaceous Period 144 million years ago when flowering plants evolved. The Joshua are everywhere and the plains are covered in trees of various shapes and size. Small mountain squirrels scurry in the underbrush around the trees and various birds alight in the trees such as jays. In addition to the Joshua trees there are a species of conifer that grew in the are before the climate favored the Joshua tree. The conifers are often stunted and dwarfed and grow with the prevailing wing making them appear bonzi like.

Spent the afternoon in an area aptly named Hidden Valley. Hidden Valley is a small amphitheater that was once enclosed entirely by huge boulders. The boulders are the eroded remains of a granitic batholith that has been chemically and physically eroded to form boulders of varying shapes and sizes. Within the amphitheater are several species of cactus, succulents, Joshua trees, yukka bushes, dwarfed conifers, and several other plant species. A photographer could spend most of the day in this location doing macro work.

The weather was very cool during my visit and after 2 hours messing with cactus and photographing some of the dead trees which make outstanding silhouette shots I became slightly hypothermic. Putting gloves and wool cap on, I noted that the very light rain had since turned to sleet and light snow!

The night was very cold and looking through the window I was shocked to see sleet rather than rain on the tent! Star trails had to be cancelled for the second night in a row due to cloud cover and wind.

The following day we scouted an area searching for a particular rock formation which I wanted to photograph. Hiking off the road the formation was easily sighted. The formation was granitic in composition and had several dykes cross cutting the base rock. It took sometime to determine the best area to photograph the rock from, taking into account sun, camera, lens type and angle. After working out the best location we hiked back to the car to prepare our equipment before returning later in the afternoon to capture the last light and sunset.

Returning later, I was shocked to see 4 people attempting to climb the rock I wanted to photograph! Two individuals (a boy and his girlfriend) were attempting to scale the rock without much luck. Two off duty marines came past and commented that they were foolish as the rock was slippery even when dry with hardly any hand or toe holes. The two marines left making comments such as “dumb ass”. Luckily for us, as the light became golden the two "wanabe" climbers had curtailed their climb and departed and we were able to secure several photographs.

That night the wind dropped and the cloud cover that had prevailed during the previous days had lifted allowing star trails to be photographed. The night sky was amazing with millions upon millions are stars able to be viewed. I still think the southern sky is prettier with the southern cross, but the northern sky is just as good! The night air was cold with the temperature hovering just slightly above zero Celsius (32 F).

After another very cool night camping, we departed south for New Mexico with a quick stop at the Cholla Cactus garden

Trona Pinnacles, California

Making our way south east from Death Valley, a quick stop was made at a small ghost town 6 miles from the highway. Luckily it wasn't too far off our route as the ghost town was a fizzer and did not warrant a stop.

Further south we passed a small uninspiring town who name eludes me. It seems the only thing it had going for it wads a huge chimney spewing out sulphur dioxide, the waste product from the smelting of some type of ore. The only modern aspect of this town was the fire department which sported new shining red trucks. The area was obviously poor and not wanting to embarrass any of the town occupants we made our way out of town.

Trona Pinnacles (roughly 4 hours drive from Dealth Valley) is one of the most unusual geological features in the California Desert Conservation Area. The unusual landscape consists of more than 500 tufa spires (porous rock formed as a deposit from springs of streams), some as high as 140 feet (43 m), rising from the bed of the Searles Lake.

The pinnacles vary in size and shape from short and squat to tall and thin, and are composed primarily of calcium carbonate (tufa). They now sit isolated and slowly crumbling away near the south end of the valley, surrounded by many square miles of flat, dried mud and with stark mountain ranges at either side. The spires formed underwater between 10,000 to 100,000 years ago during three ice ages.

The low afternoon light at the pinnacles was quite spectacular when the sun poked through the cloud layer. After scoping the area and taking a few Polaroid shots to determine angles, I figured the best shot was to try and capture a line of pinnacles with a pano, rather individual peaks.

I set up the 70-200/2.8 and 300/2.8 on tripods and waited for the cloud to part allowing the peaks to be illuminated in light. I waited and waited and nothing happened! The light was diffused and soft causing the landscape to appear flat, uninviting and uninteresting. I was about to “can” the shoot when the sun finally decided to make an appearance. The light was amazing. The peaks stood out from the surrounding flat environment as the last rays of light illuminated them.

After three pano shots I quickly dismounted the camera and attempted to captures a few of the peaks. As with many low light shoots, it was a race against time attempting to capture as many images as possible in the small time envelope.

I was satisfied with the result, and due to the weather changing (storm clouds approaching) decided to head further south past Edwards Airfiorce Base catching some sleep in a local Motel 6 (not the best accommodation on the planet, but 100% better than a wet sandy tent!

The Pinnacles are recognizable in more than a dozen hit movies. Over thirty film projects a year are shot among the tufa pinnacles, including backdrops for car commercials and sci-fi movies and television series such as Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, Star Gate and Star Trek V.

THis area is not visited very often because of its relative remoteness.  Altohugh you wouldn't spend a week here, it is well worth a visit - especially in morning or afternoon low light.

Zimbreski Point & Badwater, Death Valley

An early wake up this morning to drive to Zimbreski Point to capture some additional images of the sunrise from slightly different locations to yesterday. The point was better today than yesterday as there were less people about – no doubt because of the cool conditions and chilly wind. The purples and pinks of sunrise were spectacular over the point with the moon going down behind the snow capped mountains. As the sun peaked over the horizon the morning light bathed the craggy peaks and gullies creating ideal contrast and colour.

From Zimbreski Point a short drive was made to Badwater with a stop to photograph a pair of desert ravens which were hanging just off the road on the salt pan. Initially the ravens were careful not to approach too close, but after some time getting used to me they became quite interactive. One fellow actually posed several times on a rock with a clear background. I could
have spent longer with these two birds as it was obvious they were intelligent and social animals, however, I wanted to reach Badwater while the light was still relatively low on the horizon to capture the texture and delicate and patterns of the salt crystals in the area.

There are several textual styles produced by salt in the Death Valley region depending upon wind movement, local temperatures, and water/alt content. The salt can form trails that mimic strand lines produced as flood waters recede and evaporate. The colour of the salt can alter dramatically depending upon the mineral and biological content. Often the white salt is tinged with pink indicating that algae was once present when the water was shallow. By the way, I did taste the salt; the taste was very strong; much stronger than usual table salt.

After catching a quick bite to eat (dehydrated food) which was not exactly tasty I headed out of Death Valley traveling south east toward Trona Pinnacles via an old ghost town that was signposted. Unfortunately the ghost town was nothing more than a few jumbled buildings from yesterday year and not really worth capturing on film, but as it was just off the road not much time was wasted making the detour.

Death Valley, California

The drive from Alabama Hills to Death Valley was extremely interesting. The highway runs parallel between two crumple zones that make the Sierra Ranges before slowing gaining altitude to cross the Sierras roughly at 5000 feet. After reaching the alpine desert pass a drop is made into Death Valley.

The most imposing thought on my mind as we descended into Death Valley from the pass is that it is HUGE. The terrain is so expansive that it's very difficult to determine scale. That is until you see a very tiny speck of a car on the valley floor and say "Geez, this place is massive".

Alluvial fans flow from the snow capped Sierra Mountains and prograde into Piedmont fans before transgressing into playa terrain. There's only a few access points to the Death Valley National Park and the road I used passed though a small settlement (post office, gas station and RV park) before crossing the playa to climb another crumple zone before entering Death Valley proper.

Half way across the valley floor I heard a huge roar! Expecting an earthquake or some other large geological event I glanced toward the sky to see a US Airforce F18 (or similar) buzzing the car at only a few hundred feet. The aircraft then banked, turned over and made another run! I was to learn that Death Valley is a training and testing ground for the US Airforce based at Edwards Airforce Base. During the next few days the occasional roar could be heard as a test pilot flew his/her machine close to the valley floor banking and arching like a highly maneuverable insect.

Death Valley is supposed to be - well - very dry. But, on this visit it was raining and much of the park was closed to traffic; before I arrived it had rained heavily and torrential rains had flooded many areas; rock slides and debris covered many of the access tracks and roads. It was unfortunate, but many of the outstanding areas such the "Racetrack" were closed due to heavy rain, flooding and road washouts.

Playa lakes (the area between the mountains which are usually dry) were small shallow lakes and vegetation was surrounded by shallow water. As there was cloud cover, much of the afternoon was spent photographing the snow capped mountains and desert areas inundated with water. At one stage a storm came though and the clouds turned black and ominous looking, however, the rain fell elsewhere.

Despite the damp conditions, much of the area is covered in salt and low lying vegetation. In some areas exquisite salt formations can be seen such as at the Devil's Golf Course. Of cause the whole region is at or below sea level and has the lowest elevation within the United States.

Death Valley has three major dune systems (wind blown sand) and initially when I first saw the dunes I thought they were piles of dirt set aside for road crews to maintain the road. I was shocked when I saw the scale of these dunes - as with everything in this area the dunes were HUGE and expansive. The dune morphology was very fine sand shaped by unidirectional winds to form barcan dune systems.

Initially I thought it would be best to hike to the dunes (only a mile or so from the road), however, on careful observation I noted that many of the dunes were imprinted with marks from the recent rain, and from some careless visitors who had climbed several of the dunes. As it was almost sunset and the light was low I decided to use my 500/4 telephoto in landscape mode rather than hike out and maybe miss the golden light.

I spent two nights in Death Valley (I would have spent more if rain had not closed off several sections of the park). Road crews were busy repairing sections of tracks that had been made impassable, however, I doubted their task when I observed a tractor sweeping dust from the highway!

Sunsets were spent on the playa photographing the changing vista with salt and salt puddle formations in the foreground while the two sunrises were spent at Zabriskie Point, an area noted for it colourful rock formations and back dropped by the massive snow capped Sierra Range.

Sunrise in Death Valley is cold, however, due to cloud cover the temperatures were not as severe as they could have been. Still, an icy wind seemed to permeate every layer I wore and my hands stung - especially when manipulating a carbon fiber tripod. Zabriskie Point was not disappointing and many images could be created at this location due to the changing colours and formations; leading lines and s curves can be seen everywhere!

The final morning was spent photography two desert ravens. Ravens are very intelligent and it was interesting to note the behavior between these two birds. At one stage one bird collected some food and keeping the food in its crop hopped toward the other bird. The raven then offered the morsel to its partner. I have never seen this behavior before, despite spending many hours observing ravens.

Alabama Hills, California

The next photo location after Bodie Ghost Town was Alabama Hills (Lone Pine), California. Alabama Hills has been made infamous by its use by Hollywood in the making of western movies. If you have seen a western where John Wayne or Kirk Douglas fights off the Indians as they shoot from huge boulders amidst a pink sky at sunset, then you have seen Alabama Hills.

After arriving early evening, scoping the locality for a sunset shot it was time to try and find something identifiable to eat for dinner. Although there was a huge box of dried food in the vehicle, a local town meant that perhaps something fresh could be discovered. After negotiating the main street several times Pizza seemed the only option. The cafe was decked out in movie posters personally signed by many of the movie greats - Kirk Douglas, Karl Moldan, John Wayne, Errol flynn et al. The pizza was surprising well made and tasted reasonable - but anything tastes reasonable after a few days eating freeze dried food!

Sunrise the following morning was cold with the temperature hovering around zero degrees Celsius. The sky was turning pink as the four wheel drive rocketed along the corrugated dirt road bound for a location called Mobius Arch. A short while later found myself surrounded by large granitic boulders, many the size of football fields amidst frozen vegetation, frost and snow. The rocks are an exposed batholith and many of the formations reminded me of an Australian location called Girraween in southern Queensland.

Mobius Arch is a hole that has been eroded in the rock and by positioning yourself to one side with a wide angle lens you can shot through the arch and toward the Sierra Ranges as the early morning sun baths the snow capped peaks. After obtaining the iconic image, it was time to spend a few hours exploring the mesa to determine locations for further photographs before heading to town in search of a late breakfast. I was lucky to see a small group of California Quail, California's state bird, along the access track. Whilst photographing the birds I came across a rock motif of a dinosaur face which I thought cute. The "rock art" was not within the protected area but was located within private property along the main road from Lone Pine.

A small cafe, with the insoiring name of "The Wagonwheel Cafe" was chosen which looked quite dubious from the outside, however, upon entering several locals were dining in what was obviously a 1960 - 1970's style eatery (or diner as the Americans call them). A waitress quickly ushered me towards a table, gave me a menu and offered to bring coffee and water. I ordered Oakley's Eggs (don't ask) and a large plate was soon delivered comprising a 3 egg omelet, various local vegetables and hash browns - along with a bottomless cup of coffee. The clientele was interesting as they were all local: two workers in ball caps, a Mexican family, and a rancher sporting a camo jacket, riding boots, and cowboy hat! They all drove rather large pickups (utes).

I would have liked to spend a further day or two at this location as the scope for early morning and late afternoon photography is excellent; the lines, s curves, shapes and textures of the rocks make excellent subjects. Although the day produces harsh lighting (it is a desert environment) the area avails itself to black and white photography which does not require soft golden lighting.