a shot from the very bottom of death valley - taken last year. i thought it looked hot.

a spot I have to go back to. eureka dunes is in the northern part of death valley park, in the valley west of the main valley generally known as death valley. it is isolated, off several miles of unpaved roads and 4 wheel drive roads and incredibly amazing. next time i am camping here and saying goodbye to the motel accomodations.

am now 2 1/2 weeks into the new job. yahoo! is a great place to work and i am really glad i decided to make this change. incredibly busy already as i am trying to jump in feet first. and I started here just in time for a stock split and a new advertising campaign. good stuff!

i drove out of death valley the northern way. the way across unpaved roads and up past ubhebe crater. this took a couple of hours but was incredible as the landscape subtly changed. the road not only headed north but gradually rose in elevation as well so the temperatures were much more pleasant.

driving north toward ubehebe crater, the landscape starts to support more traditional desert flora, including this really interesting cactus.

thank god that it was warm and dry. i can only imagine what this place is like when there is rain and the mud moves. 20 mule canyon is a really interesting place to drive through and explore. very monochromatic and the cool images come when you stop and spend time looking closely.

on my trip to death valley, i explored the west side road around badwater. this included a stop to check out the remains of an old borax mound from an abandoned refining operation. pretty weird stuff.

the wildflowers have started in death valley. this was shot coming around the bend from badwater and the whole sweep of the slope was covered in these intensely bright yellow flowers. I expect that as the spring progresses others will come along as well. i saw purple and pink flowers too, but not in the numbers of these.

(click to popup a larger version) a panorama I spliced together of the Eureka Dunes in the northern part of Death Valley. This is shot from about a mile away. I spent the better part of last week there exploring the desert, shooting with the 1ds camera and 4w driving on really cool roads. As usual, not enough time - midday isn't the best time to visit the dunes for shooting. More images to come this weekend.

joshua trees at the higher elevations coming out of death valley last year. i finally scanned some of the slides from that trip

old bed springs create an interesting contrast to the mountains, rhyolite, death valley

Jackrabbit in the brush and the caretaker’s house in the distance, Rhyolite, Death Valley

old car in rhyolite, death valley

sheds in rhyolite, death valley

dawn over the dunes and the light is golden which causes the dunes to glow with a reddish cast

mines in 20 mule canyon, death valley

lagoon at the oasis hotel in furnace creek, death valley

sunset on the mountains north of rhyolite

dune, death valley, ca 2003

evening light hits the dunes in death valley

signs of life, even fleeting, are everywhere in death valley. even in the dunes.

dawn on the dunes in death valley—we got up at 5 am to get situated for the sunrise

dawn comes overcast and the hills are flat and painterly

view from the top of dante's peak—looking out across the salt river flats in the valley

marble canyon: looking back down the path

rhyolite caboose: sits at the top of the hill

early dawn is blue light on the dunes

panorama spliced together of death valley —looking down on the valley from the mouth of marble canyon

20 mule canyon —raincloud over the valley

death valley hills :: february 27 2003

after spending 5 days down in death valley with cameras and fellow photographers, i have decided to take a break from this site to focus time on the craft of photography and on refining my photo portfolio (not online). i'm sure i'll be back after a rest and some creative rejuvenation.