Death Valley is a place of myth, history and stark beauty. There are few places in the American Southwest that offer so much variety and contrast in one National Park. I personally had never seen anything quite like it.
Our first stop was Zabriskie Point. We arrived at sunrise, which was the best time to shoot. The sun illuminating across the valley was well worth the wake up call and our mentor for the day David Tejada was teaching us tips on shooting the stars as we waited for the sun to appear. Then it was off to a next breathtaking view of 280 feet below sea level at Badwater, the lowest point in all of North America. We also visited Salt Creek which provided both sprawling landscapes and opportunities for focused detail shots. Many took Billï's advice to "get their pants dirty" by laying on the boardwalk and getting up close to the cracking ground and interesting cacti, sometime s allowing the background to provide context, other times allowing the background to fall out of focus.
On the trek we explored a few canyons with polished marble walls and various mosaic patterns. The sunlight created a challenge but also an opportunity to explore the shadows and view the canyons from a different perspective. David even set up some long exposures with light streaks created by cars passing by on the nearby rather desolate road.
On the last day of shooting we visited Scotty�s Castle, the only man-made attraction in the park and were treated to a plethora of photography opportunities at the incredible estate. We also made a trip to the unbelievable Ubehebe Crater created by a volcanic eruption over 6,000 years ago. I couldn't believe its massive size, and the array of colors on the crater walls.
Furnace Creek was a wonderful place to return to in the evening and it was great to hear everyone�s views on what they learned throughout the day. Each day was packed with so many great locations and the mentors continually shared their tips and expertise, even providing lighting demonstrations and various one-on-one feedback about our specific work. At the end of the trip, it was difficult to narrow down our images to only 10 for the final slideshow, but it was really exciting to see the diversity in everyone's images. I had a great time and learned an immense amount and will definitely look forward to my next trek.
Carlos Arbelaez
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