Tag Archives: racetrack

G Dan Mitchell Photographs at Stovepipe Wells

G Dan Mitchell Photographs, Stovepipe Wells Lodge
G Dan Mitchell Photographs, Stovepipe Wells Lodge

Stovepipe Wells Lodge – G Dan Mitchell photographs. Death Valley National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Since several people have asked, I thought I would share an update on installation of my photographs at the historic Stovepipe Wells Lodge in Death Valley National Park. Late last year Ortega Family Enterprises (who also sell some of my photographs at Muir Woods National Monument) contacted me. They were about to take over the management of the facility from the previous concessionaire and were interested in selling some of my Death Valley photographs in the gift shop at Stovepipe Wells.

It turns out that they were also planning some significant upgrades to the lodging facilities at Stovepipe and they asked if I could provide a large number of 16″ x 24″ prints for the guest rooms. To make a long story short, they selected a half dozen of my Death Valley photographs and I went to work making nearly 170 prints of the six photographs, which were then shipped off to their framer for final preparation.

I finally got a chance to see the results when I visited Death Vally in early April. I stopped by and found out that they had begun the process of hanging the prints in guest rooms, and with the help of an employee I was able to get in long enough to snap a shot of one of the rooms. (Hanging in this room are Transverse Dunes, Death Valley and “Crossing Tracks, Racetrack Playa.”) It was also good to see some work being done to upgrade and update the lodge!

It is gratifying to have my photographs installed here for several reasons. Several of the photographs were made virtually within walking distance of Stovepipe Wells, where I often camp when I visit the Valley. I also know that among the many people who visit Stovepipe will be a good number of my fellow photographers – and knowing that they will see my prints here is both a bit intimidating and a quite exciting! Finally, before Ortega took over the facility I often stopped to look at some of the photographs and paintings that had been there previously. (I was glad to see that one wonderful black and white photograph was still hanging in the hotel office.) With that in mind, it seems like there is a good chance that these photographs of mine may be hanging in this historic facility for some time to come!

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Sliding Rock, Cloudy Morning – Racetrack Playa

Sliding Rock, Cloudy Morning - Racetrack Playa
Sliding Rock, Cloudy Morning - Racetrack Playa

Sliding Rock, Cloudy Morning – Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a “sliding rock” on a cloudy morning at the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

The weather gods were not on my side during my visit to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley near the end of March. My plan was to shoot sunset and sunrise, and in between to do night photography. As I drove out there on the terrible washboard gravel road my hopes were high – I saw some interesting looking clouds that looked like they might even form into lenticular clouds. When I arrived I shot a bit in decent light at the “Grandstand” feature near the north end of the playa.

Unfortunately, the good light was short-lived. Before I left the Grandstand a high, thin back of clouds spread across the sky. It stayed in the evening (tantalizing me with some bits of clear sky far to the west), blocked the full moon all night, and was still there when I wandered out onto the playa in the morning to do some early shots. It never did really clear, and I came back from the playa with far fewer good images than I expected. (I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’ve had uniform great luck with lighting on every previous visit, so I was probably due for less than great light.)

In order to make this photograph work I did quite a bit of post-processing, some of which I anticipated when I made the exposure. First of all, I realized that getting everything from the very close rock to the distant ridge in focus would be a problem. So I made three exposures, “focus bracketing” them with one focus on the far ridge, one focused on the rock, and one focused in between. I made a blend of the three exposures in post, keeping the most focused portions of each.

Because the light and colors were fairly flat I decided to go with a black and white interpretation. The conversion was fairly straightforward, but here I also decided to indulge in a bit of post-processing. I duplicated the background layer, turned it into and “overlay,” and added some Gaussian blur. With a bit of dodging, burning, and work with curves, the image ended up where I imagined it would.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 80mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/10 second

keywords: sliding, moving, gliding, rock, stone, racetrack, race, track, playa, cracked, mud, earth, ground, cloudy, mountain, hill, barren, desert, rugged, track, trail, black and white, monochrome, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock

Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa
Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A climber stands atop “The Grandstand” formation in the middle of the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

I got a short period of good light when I visited the Racetrack Playa in late March… followed by an evening, a night, and a morning of mediocre light. Win some – lose some! When I first arrived at the playa it was still relatively clear, with only the thin high clouds seen in this photograph. My first stop was at “The Grandstand,” this interesting rocky hill in the middle of the otherwise perfectly flat playa. As I wandered around looking for good angles from which to photograph the formation, a succession of visitors climbed to the highest point of the formation. I had never thought to do this, even though I had climbed over part of the Grandstand to get to the other side on a previous visit. After waiting some time for the climbers to get out of “my shot,” I finally figured out that the lone figure atop this large rock made an interesting subject.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/320 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, racetrack, playa, moving, rocks, the, grandstand, formation, man, person, climber, top, summit, atop, stand, brush, plant, sky, cloud, mountain, range, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, sport, active, adventure, drive, stock, blue

The Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

The Grandstand, Racetrack Playa
The Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

The Grandstand, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of “the “Grandstand” formation standing in the middle of the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

The Grandstand is a striking formation located a distance out onto the flat expanse of the Racetrack Playa, the location of the famous “moving rocks” in Death Valley National Park. The formation is located not far from where the road first reaches the playa and it is only a short walk. As I recall, it is just the tip of a large “hill” that is mostly buried beneath the very deep silt that was washed down from the surrounding mountains to form the playa. It has a shape this is vaguely “castle-like,” with several “turrets” that tower above the flat surrounding terrain and invite quite a few visitors to climb to the top. (The Grandstand is located at nearly the opposite end of the playa from the location of the largest concentration of moving rocks.)

I think that the Grandstand makes an interesting photographic subject, even though the thing most people come to see and photograph is the phenomenon of the moving rocks. I often plan to stop there and photograph in mid to late afternoon – when light on the rocks is interesting and photogenic, but before the “good light” begins further south on the playa and it is time to photograph the rocks and their tracks. It can also be a compositional element in photographs of the rocks at the south end of the playa, especially when you shoot with a long lens.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 55mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/320 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, the, grandstand, hill, rock, boulder, formation, race, track, racetrack, playa, sky, clouds, black and white, monochrome, geology, stock, light