Seven-Years Ago (24-March-2011) — California

Gone to See California. Day 5: Death Valley Spring 2011 Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant.

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.

Four-Years Ago (19-October-2012) — New Mexico

Gone to See America 2012 Road Trip. Nikonians Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 6: White Sands National Monument.

Dawn in the Desert. White Sands National Monument. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 7.

Dawn in the Desert. White Sands National Monument. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 7. (David J Mathre)
Dawn in the Desert. White Sands National Monument. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 7. (David J Mathre)

Friday (25-March-2011) — California

Gone to See California. Day 6: Death Valley Spring 2011 Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant.

We started the day before sunrise walking out to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park. The objective for this location was to focus on lines, shapes, and textures as the sun rose and the shadows moved across the dunes. The first image is of morning shadows on the sand dunes. The next two are the same image of the dunes taken by Michael Mariant using my Leica X1 camera. The first is the “out of the camera” jpg, the 2nd the raw (dng) image processed with Capture One Pro attempting to minimize the amount of the upper right being blown out.

Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4 G lens (ISO 100, f/8, 1/500 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and converted for web with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4 G lens (ISO 100, f/8, 1/500 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and converted for web with Photoshop CS5.
Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken by Michael Mariant with my Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/10, 1/60 sec). Out of the Camera jpg. (David J Mathre)
Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken by Michael Mariant with my Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/10, 1/60 sec). Out of the Camera jpg.
Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken by Michael Mariant with my Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/10, 1/60 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and converted for web with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Sand Dune Morning Shadows, Death Valley NP. Image taken by Michael Mariant with my Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/10, 1/60 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro.