I will break up the final day in Death Valley into two separate posts due to the extent of great photographs I captured. With the amazing subject matter at both golden hours, it is better presented in two posts…
The alarm went off at 5am. Brew some coffee and off we go… Up to Zabriske Point for the sunrise. I began shooting while still in the Blue Hour under the soft pre-dawn light. There was no spectacular color to the sunrise due to a cloud-bank to the east, but once it rose the light was amazing!
I had never been all that impressed with photos I had seen from Zabriske Point. But it is always presented as one of the must see locations in Death Valley National Park. Through my research, I found that the best light for the location occurs during the morning golden hour.
After experiencing and photographing Zabriske, I have a completely different opinion now. The formations and the creamy chocolaty coffee colors were magnificent! And as a nearby photographer had stated, “it makes me want to eat ice cream”!
After Zabriske, we went back to camp and cooked up a nice breakfast of eggs, sausage and some fresh fruit… Yum!
With breakfast and the cleanup done, we ventured over and explored Golden Canyon up to the Red Cathedral. What an amazingly otherworldly place! The hike was exhausting and the heat took its toll on us.
To escape the 90+ heat, we headed up to the higher elevations at Dantes View. Here the temperature was as low as 66 degrees! What a welcomed relief! I took some great abstract photos from this lofty perspective 5,578′ above Badwater Basin and then we napped for a bit in the comfort of the car.
