Zabriskie Point Sunset, originally uploaded by CircadianReflections Photography.

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

The temperature was 96º when He-man and I arrived in Death Valley, and the wind was strong and steady averaging 14mph wth gusts up to 29mph. I didn’t fancy shooting the sunset out in the Sand Dunes which was my planned photo spot for my first night in Death Valley. Plan B was Zabriskie Point. Myself and He-man arrived a little before the sun went down. I set up my tripod, and camera keeping the cap on to protect my lens, and filter from the stinging grains of sand that were slamming into me and the camera. He-man stayed low behind the stone wall, and I would duck behind it during the strongest gusts hanging onto to my tripod.
When the sun set and color started emerging, and the light was changing in the sky I would take a photo replacing the cap, and turning my camera away from the head on winds while waiting several moments before shooting again.

This is the night’s color at its peak. It looks a little soft, but I attribute that to the wind and sand in the air.
As soon as the color started to fade I packed up and started to leave.
There were very few people up here. We met a lovely couple from Philadelphia, and a group of young women from Germany while up here. Meeting new people is one the things I like most about traveling. We talked a few minutes said farewell, and headed back to the Hotel.

Overall there were very few tourist in the park while I was here. The most people we saw was later in the week when we toured Scotty’s Castle. The temperatures during the day were already getting well up into the 90º’s. I suppose that’s what kept the tourist away. We went out in the mornings, evening, and night so the trip wasn’t uncomfortable.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35@17mm| f10| 13secons| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Hoya Circular Polarizer| Tripod

Death Valley National Monument Park; California; Sunset