Visiting Death Valley National Park always leaves me in awe. It is such a barren and raw landscape. A far cry from my home town hills and coastal mountains in San Jose. There are several challenges that I have experienced when I photograph in Death Valley.

Weather is the main factor in having truly great landscape shots. If you are traveling and visiting it can be frustrating when the weather does not cooperate. When that happens I usually fall back on shooting during the golden hour and using the day to explore the many areas of the park making notes about what would be good compositions with the right light and weather.  There is a local rental at Furnace Creek that rents 4x4's, while a bit pricey, well worth it for the opportunities it affords to see the back country of the park while you are waiting for the right lighting.

I think the most frustrating is the wind that seems to always be blowing down the main valley, or maybe not the wind but the sand and dust it picks up and transports. While it makes for some great dune landscapes the dust wreaks havoc when you realize you need to change your lens to get the composition you really want. Pre-planning when you are in your vehicle , camper, or hotel room is crucial to reducing the number of times you will expose your sensor to dust and thus dust spots on your photos. Bringing sensor cleaning supplies on a trip to Death Valley is a must if you plan on shooting there for an extended period.

Another challenge if you are composing the Mesquite Sand Dunes are the constant stream of people and foot prints on the dunes. I have found that morning pictures are the best for foot print free dunes (only if there was a decent blow the day / night before). Plan to arrive about 2 hours before sunrise to get the location that works for you. Most non-photo visitors that come out to watch the sunrise only make it out to the first two sets of dunes, if you can make it out to the farther, taller dunes you will have the best opportunity for people free compositions of the dunes.  I try to be aware of my surroundings, if I happen to arrive late and someone else has already set-up in a killer location I change things up and look for more local shots rather then the sweeping vistas trying not to ruin any compositions with my tracks or location. Nothing is more frustrating then being there early and already set-up and another photographer arrives, looks at where I am set-up then walks up the dune in front of me and sets up his rig within the composition I had carefully planned without even so much as a wave. UGH!!

The rewards are high for all of us who seek out the compositions. Patience is rewarded with some truly stunning landscapes. Off seasons are a great time to go to avoid the big crowds. Unfortunately you are dealing a little more with extreme temperatures. A small price to pay to get that clean composition. And when all else fails including another photographer in the picture to add scale can look pretty cool to.

If you are planning on camping be prepared for the dust. We have spent at least one night in one of the local lodging establishments just to get out of the wind and dust. It is a nice break and a great time to clean your gear and reorganize for the next day. Bonus is the AC when you are there during the summer!

Hope to see you out in the Valley at a future time, I know I will be heading back to practice my night photography with the milky way hanging out in the summer sky!