I wandered out on the playa lake around 10pm to shoot the stars and had to deal with strong winds. I could feel high speed vibrations in my tripod legs so rather than risk blurry shots I decided to head back to the car. I set the alarm for 2am and when I woke it was like the wind gods had flipped off the switch.
The milky-way was visible in all it’s glory and wow what a sense of peace and awe. I had a few hours before sunrise so I walked into the scene with my flashlight and tried to make some patterns. Painting with light takes some practice, there were quite a few bad shots that made no sense but eventually I got something I liked.
Be prepared for a rugged 20 mile drive to this location. With hard work the rewards are sweeter.
My wife, Tracy said she likes the shot without the flash light work. She felt the sky was powerful enough to stand alone and adding the light was a distraction. So here is the one she likes. I used a quick blip of the flashlight, as fast as I could turn it on and off, to add some light to the rock. Feel free leave a comment as to which you like better.
When light pollution is a minimum the milky way becomes a prominent band through the night sky.
I like em’ both! 🙂 Hows that for being helpful? Not… Really enjoying your images Ferrell. Your work is tremendous! John, I enjoy your images too, thank you for stopping by. FerrellReplyCancel
Anna -January 6, 2013 - 6:05 pm
I must say I’m relieved you weren’t abducted by aliens…ha.
The light painting creates a surreal image, very cool. I love the alignment. I guess it’s not for everyone though.
The sky is the star of this show; a cosmic amphitheater…ReplyCancel
Ferrell, you know how much I enjoy and admire your work. You know that behind every good man there is a good woman and she is always right. Guess what, I agree with your wife about the image liking the image without the light painting. So your wife and I are both right. MacReplyCancel
Ron -May 6, 2013 - 10:16 pm
I definitely like the second one the best. It doesn’t look as artificial.
Me too, the second one highlights the beauty of nature and that’s why I made the trip there.
Thanks for visiting!
FerrellReplyCancel
I took a video the night I shoot these images, some parts are dark when my flashlight is off but when my little headlight is on you can see the desert floor as I hike back to camp.
I mentioned in the video that I started taking the time lapse series around moonset. The time lapse went on for 3 hours and this is a layered shot of 2 of those shots, one at moonset of the dunes and another later of the night sky when the stars are most visible.
Minimal light pollution allows a dramatic view of the milky way. This image is a composite, one just before moonset of the landscape and one after moonset of the milky way.
Here is the result of the time lapse series.
Star trails become dramatic when created from several hundred exposures taken over a several hours during a moonless night.
Wow – these are incredible. I love how you created the “invisible” into visible – such clarity, slow-time. Thanks, as always, for sharing this!ReplyCancel
Tucked away in a corner of this extraordinary planet there is a place called Racetrack Playa. Large rocks move across the playa leaving behind a trail several hundred yards long. It remains a mystery how these rocks are transported. If I approached the problem analytically (as a geologist that’s what I do) I’d have to realize, the rocks are jagged, sharp and heavy and the surface they move across is flat. What could be the driving force?
Hmm…. maybe wind and some water and the playa gets all slippery and off they go. But, why does one rock have a trail that runs east-west and another has a trail that runs northwest-southeast and they cross! Now the plot thickens, I have to spend the night here and see if I can solve the mystery.
Crazy good color in the bottom image. I’ve never seen that before. I so want to get to the Racetrack this year when we go in late Feb. How hard was the journey out there?
Totally disappointed that you of all people could not solve the mystery! Dang….
Thanks for your kind comments on my blog. Much appreciated.ReplyCancel
Ferrell -November 26, 2012 - 3:05 pm
John, The journey to Racetrack is a bit challenging. It’s 20 miles of rocky and gullied road. Most is easy passage except for a couple former stream gullies. It is very do-able with a 4-wheel drive that has good ground clearance and very tough tires. You’ll be driving up to 5mph in some parts, 20-30mph in other, the rocks are jagged and hard on tires. My only anxiety was getting a punctured tire.ReplyCancel
Anna -January 6, 2013 - 6:09 pm
Oh! The texture! You’re killin’ me! In a good way…ReplyCancel
When I walked into Death Valley I was in darkness. I know intellectually there is a picture but I can’t see it. However, I do know that given a long enough exposure my camera will be able to record what my eyes cannot see. That is the one incentive that kept me moving forward.
Each time I thought there was a valley or a crest in the distance, I’d hike there only to find it disappear under my feet. Subtle tones would trick my eyes so I relied on long camera exposures to help me find interesting scenes. For this pic, I moved left, right, closer and further for almost an hour. The dim moonlight was enough for the camera to work with so I kept trying. When I finally saw this scene in my LED I was thrilled with the soft tones and the deep shadow.
When it comes to National Park visitors, Death Valley is ranked low. When I arrived it was windy, sunny and hot. Everywhere I glanced I saw scenes from the Clint Eastwood movie “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” The landscape is naked, simply dirt and sky mile after mile. Typically, my photographic destinations are filled with immediate excitement but entering Death Valley I didn’t yell “Wow”. I didn’t even murmur “wow” but I kept moving. Around 5 pm on my first day the land started to come alive with shadow, contrast, color and texture. As the sun moved closer to the horizon Death Valley became more beautiful, then it was dark, like flipping a switch. I was alone, all alone in a place that looked more like mars than earth.
I’m comfortable by myself, it was the darkness that required my adapting. An hour after sunset I was hiking on unfamiliar ground, the half moon gave me enough light to see shadow so I kept moving in the direction of safe footing. I worked my way back to Zabriskie Point and in dim light found an interesting landscape. Once the moon was gone, in perfect darkness I took this shot. It’s actually two shots combined, one of the landscape at moonset and then another several hours later.
Not only is the image amazing but the words that you’ve written along with it add to the depth of your experience. I’ve read each and every post you’ve put up. This one is different. It is filled with a connection, a connection to those things you love both here and now. Well done my friend, well done.ReplyCancel
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Very nice! Amazing what can be captured if you’re willing to wake up at 2am 😉
I think I agree with your wife – it’s hard to beat the “au naturel” look.
The first pic is definitely cool though – it looks like some UFO about to take off from another planet.
Thank you Dave, The wife is always right, a good recipe for success!, Ferrell
I like em’ both! 🙂 Hows that for being helpful? Not… Really enjoying your images Ferrell. Your work is tremendous!
John, I enjoy your images too, thank you for stopping by. Ferrell
I must say I’m relieved you weren’t abducted by aliens…ha.
The light painting creates a surreal image, very cool. I love the alignment. I guess it’s not for everyone though.
The sky is the star of this show; a cosmic amphitheater…
Ferrell, you know how much I enjoy and admire your work. You know that behind every good man there is a good woman and she is always right. Guess what, I agree with your wife about the image liking the image without the light painting. So your wife and I are both right. Mac
I definitely like the second one the best. It doesn’t look as artificial.
Me too, the second one highlights the beauty of nature and that’s why I made the trip there.
Thanks for visiting!
Ferrell