“Death Valley Racetrack” – Death Valley, California – Paul Rojas – Featured Photographer
I was just talking the other day to someone about how we will spend thousands of dollars to travel the world to take photographs, but we seldom take advantage of the magical places within a few hours’ drive from home. Well, I am guilty of never having been to Death Valley although I have lived in Southern California for almost 20 years. Fortunately, Paul was there recently and took some spectacular photos including the one featured today. The tones are incredible. Read his story below about how things didn’t go as planned yet he got great photos anyway. Then check out the rest of his portfolios.
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23704880@N08/
500px: http://500px.com/projas/photos
Here is Paul with a detailed account :
This was from a trip to the Racetrack in Death Valley, CA a couple of weeks ago to photograph the sailing stones. Nobody really knows how it is that the stones move, but theories suggest that a rare combination of rain and extremely strong wind could provide the conditions needed to push them along the playa surface.
It was my very first time getting to the Racetrack, so I got there early in the afternoon to allow enough time to scout for compositions. Using a handheld GPS device, I also marked the coordinates of all the stones I found interesting for possible nighttime visits. After doing so, I just hung around, took goofy shots with my girlfriend, and waited for the right light. Judging by the clouds overhead, I was optimistic that there would be good light and colorful skies. But just as the sun began to drop below the mountain range, dark rain clouds started rolling in, casting a shadow over the playa. Though not what I was expecting, I found the gloom somewhat interesting and I liked how it added to the overall desolation of the place.
For the shot, the camera was tripod-mounted and positioned probably no more than a couple of feet away from the stone. With my past landscape shots, I took single RAW shots and used hyperfocal distance to set the focus. Being so close to the ground and foreground subject though, I was certain to get a soft foreground using this, so I decided to try something different. In the days prior to the trip, I had been reading up on a technique called “focus blending” and it seemed to be the best way to go about capturing the scene.
To do this, I focused my camera on the foreground stone and took a shot, quickly refocused on the midground and took another shot, then refocused on the background mountain and took a final shot. When I got home, I manually blended the in-focus portions of each of the three shots together in Photoshop to create a single image. This article by John Williams provides an excellent guide to the technique and post-processing: http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0210/jw0210-1.html.
Camera/lens: Canon 5D MKII with EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II @ 22mm
Camera was set to Manual and 3 shots taken at the following settings:
Aperture: f/13
Shutter speed: 1/25 sec
ISO: 100
No filters my personal favorite.
Share and Enjoy
PhotoBotos thinks that these photos are related to today's photo:
Death Valley Sunrise (Hexagram of the Heavens) – Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California – Rob Dweck
Most Beautiful Valley in the World – Cerce Valley, France – Alexandre Deschaumes – Featured Photographer
“Cathedral Sunset” – Sedona, AZ – Michael Wilson – Featured Photographer
“Horsetail Fire Falls”- Yosemite National Park, CA – Nader Beheshti – Featured Photographer
“Late Autumn Japanese Maple” – Mill Valley, California – Ed Callaert
Monument Valley Panorama – Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Grand Falls – Scott Wood – Featured Photographer
It’s nice to see a clear detailed photo of this fascinating area and one of the travelling stones. I personally don’t believe in the wind-and-rain theory (if it was true, then why does the stone leave such a long clearly-defined track?) but I do know some of the many stories about these stones and how they mysteriously move all on their own. The honey-combed cracks on the ground are remarkable.
The detail from foreground to background is amazing, and creates almost a surreal effect. I totally dig it.
Reblogged this on Journey Back To Words and commented:
I’ve always been fascinated by Death Valley and these traveling rocks, what attracts runners to run an marathon in such heat. What is it that draws us?
Wow I’m totally in love with this photograph!
I love Death Valley, and in a few short weeks I will be headed there to do some freelance videography work. I love the colors out there and the beautifully desolate landscape. Beautiful work though!
I love Death Valley. This shot came out great. My husband used to have a poster he bought at Death Valley of a picture just like this one. I have been camping at Death Valley when the wind got very windy. It blew so hard that it ripped up a tent with a heavy tool box inside and blew it away. I can see how it would move a rock across the ground was slick from rain.
Focus blending! Huh. I’ve gotta try that sometime, ‘specially if it can generate excellent landscapes like this one. Lovin’ it!
Great image! The background story is a good one, too!
Is this real ? The rock moves by itself ??
Have a nice good morning and thank you wonderful beautiful Sunday and necessary services for RT sequences,The images are very good and the website pointed me to look more beautiful pictures
The light, the detail, fantastic!
Gorgeous. [Thank you for popping by my blog too!]
I watched something about this phenomenon on YouTube a few months ago. awesome stuff
Amazing photo!
I find this photo so satisfying. Gorgeous and rugged.
Excellent article and fantastic photo. Well done
I’ve seen this on TV in a slow motion roll – you see the rocks racing across the desert – truly amazing!
This is amazing…i love this picture…i would’ve loved to witness the activities that happen there
I have just recently discovered these photos of these rocks that leave a trail. I find it fascinating. I live in CA as well and have always wanted to go to Death Valley but I am really going to make a point of going there now.
Impressive and what I find the curved groove behind the rock particularly intriguing. How did you achieve this?
It’s a bitch of a drive to the spot. Good thing though. I’ve heard from the rangers that some idiots are starting to show up there and drive over the tracks with ATVs, destroying them. That is one reason they will never pave the road out there. The photo you took is beautiful. I hope that rough road keeps fewer people from visiting that site just to keep the idiots away so that we don’t have more of them destroying this natural beauty.
This picture is awesome! love the mood from the mountains
That lonely little rock speaks volumes among the vast beauty of its environment. I can almost relate to it on a personal level (at times). Interesting photograph.
Amazing composition & processing
Spent 5 days in April camping at Wildrose Campground in Death Valley and exploring the park (more than 3 million acres!). It totally changed my impression of “desert”. So many different environments to photograph. I recommend it!
I guess I might be the odd person out on this one because I took a vacation just to go to Death Valley. Great Photos as always.
Drop-dead gorgeous…pun intended
no truer statement that we will travel the world and forget our own areas close to us. I have learned after being forced to slow down that there is much to see close to my home. Love the pictures.
I too lived in southern California for about seven years all total and never got to Death Valley, either. This is an interesting photo to say the least. Keep up the nice photos!
Without the focus blending, this shot would have lost something in the composition. Well done to the photographer.
Cool! I wasn’t aware of the rocks or the technique! Thank you for sharing
grrrreat!!! I’m loving this, story, fact, metaphor the whole package is amazing . .
Nice shot !
Thanks.
utham
Fascinating!
In one glance, I thought this photo was a composed work.
—— so, the track on the ground was really made by the stone ?
—— These days, the old maxim of ” Seeing is believing ” lost
its credibility because of too good photoshopping
Clearly Mother Nature invented the sport of curling LOL.
Brilliant idea to fuse together different shots.I never would have guessed, and the image is somehow complete with those foreboding clouds…. wonderful photograph!
If it were’nt for the colour of the sky…this could be a picture of the moon. It would make a great cover for a sci-fi novel, come to think of it.
Another amazing photo. Thanks
Lovely work!
Everything about this photo is incredible. The story, subject matter, and, of course, the photo are truly remarkable.