This episode came way down to the wire. I just finished the VO and editing a couple days ago and here it is. I went on the trip last summer while I was in Vegas with my fiance and we couldn’t have picked a hotter time to go. As i try to express in the episode it was SOOOO hot it was unbelievable! It peaked at 122 degrees and I heard Death Valley holds the record for the second highest temperature ever recorded in history at about 135 degrees. We only had one day to make the trip so I made sure to make the best out of it by arriving before sunrise and leaving after sunset. I chose the 2 most Iconic places in the park I could for twilight, Zabriskie point and the Sand Dunes.
One of my favorite memories from the trip was at Zabriskie point. Jennifer, my fiance and I got to Zabriskie point before anyone else at about 5am. There is a main look out that was alright but down a little further is a large mound that allows you to capture a lot more texture in the foreground of your shot. I also do a lot of research before I go to any place and saw photos of tons of Pros out on that hill taking morning photos. It looked like a perfect place so Jen and I headed down, and waited for Sunrise. I was so per-occupied with shooting my time-lapses videos and photos that I didn’t notice the crowd behind me. before I knew it I heard a whole bunch of people swearing at me from atop the look out. “Hey You #$%@, Your Ruining the shot for the rest of us.” It was most likely a tour bus that dropped a bunch of people off and they wanted their easy shot from the top of the over look. I was reminded of the photo below… 
And told my self, Hey it’s ok to be here, this is where the pros go! So I shouted back up, “Why don’t you come down here, its a really cool shot!” Ohhhh, they didnt like that. I started to hear alot of loud grunts and angry voices. I think a mob was forming and I wasn’t sure what to do. I busted my butt getting out here hours before everyone else, and was at a location that was clearly shot from before. Its not like its hard to get down next to me, its only about 40 feet.
Well anyways, I made sure to finish my video time laps quickly, and by that point the sun was already coming over the hills so I got what I wanted, but I was still very bothered on the principal. I hated the fact that I had to conform with everyone else for the good of the group, but I did, and when I got up there we got a ton of very rood stares and no open spot to shoot from. So I wedged my self in and heard a lot of huffin and puffin in French that I couldn’t make out and a lot of dirty look too. At one point I thought a cat fight was going to break out between my Fiance and one of the old ladies. It was just crazy, I just smiled the whole time and tried to be as possitive as I could, I did just capture the the image of my dreams so I couldn’t be happier…
It was just what I wanted.
Other than that the trip was great, Driving in the car was really fun and a couple times during the day I got out of the car to take a shot like the one here..
The second you open the door you are punched in the face with a blistering heat that takes your breath away. The heat in its self was such a memory of this awesome place. After getting to Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes at about 4pm, plenty of time for Sunset, we just hung out for a bit in a diner as I download my pictures so far and we rested up a bit, spending all day driving around and hiking though a 120 degree desert takes it out of you. Once we got to the dunes, Jen hung out in the car while I scouted out the best route. I came back and told her this was no joke! “If you’re gonna go with me you better bring a ton of water” I told her. It was so Hot I was actually worried about her, I know she’s a strong girl but I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her. I bagged up my camera in plastic bags and Duct tape, (I didn’t have my camera rain cover like I do now), and we headed out.
A number of times I was down to the ground with the wind rushing the sand right into my eyes and mouth, But I got the shot…
All of the video I shot though had to be stabilized in the computer because the wind was shaking my camera like crazy, but sure made for some cool shots. All in all Death Valley was a great shoot, I cant wait to do more desert stuff for the next season of Photo Trekker.
March 1st, 2010 at 1:00 PM
Just loved this episode! Can’t wait for more to come. Very creative and entertaining. I would love to post this to my facebook site so others can enjoy.