David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Views of nature and the natural world. Plants, animals, and wildlife from around the world.
House Finch trying to hide in the shrubs behind my deck. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera, FT1 adapter, and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 160, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). Hand-held and manual focus.
On the second day of the workshop we started the day before sunrise at Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes. Fortunately, this was not very far from Stove Pipe Wells where we spent the night. We did have to hike in the dark from the parking lot to the sand dunes. This was the reason Michael had geomarked the trail the day before. If you are going to do this remember to bring along a flashlight or headlamp, and watch out for sidewinder rattlesnakes It also was a bit chilly out. All of the images have been re-processed with Capture One Pro, including conversion to B&W.
Individual images from the slide-show can be viewed here.
We thought the maple trees had stopped producing sap, but the several Nor’easter storms and the resultant late winter & early spring snow got the sap flowing again. So one final batch of sap needed to be cooked down.
I rode into Death Valley with Michael Mariant. We made an initial stop at Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes prior to the start of the workshop, so Michael could geomark a trail for the next day. The photography workshop group met up at Furnace Creek. After lunch and an orientation session, we spent the afternoon at Dante’s View, Golden Valley trail, and the Devil’s Golf Course. There still was some snow on the ground at Dante’s View — 5476 ft (1669 m) above sea level. The Devil’s Golf Course is only a few feet above the lowest point (282 feet below sea level) in the National Park (and the Continental United States). You have to be careful when in the Devil’s Golf Course as the halite crystals are very sharp — which I learned the hard way. While squatting to take a picture, I managed to cut a big hole in my favorite pair of lightweight linen pants.
Individual images from the slide-shows can be viewed here.
I woke up in time to catch some fleeting brightly colored clouds to the east. There was still some snow on the ground. By noon most of the snow was mostly gone (spring flowers). Then by evening, the snow was all gone (young deer).
Individual images from the slide-show can be viewed here.