Death Valley: Days And Nights
Second time is the charm. Death Valley National Park contains one of the darkest skies in North America so of course I definitely wanted to get my camera out and get some night sky shots that would be impossible anywhere near the great lakes region where Chicago’s city lights blanket out the stars for hundreds of miles.
I backed my bags and headed out to California in October of 2017. Unfortunately, the tragic California wildfires raging just to the west generated blackened skies and cloud cover during the nights, ruining any attempt to photograph the night skies. Fortunately for me, I was still able to partake in and capture some of the valley’s geologic wonders during daylight hours. That being said, I was thirsty to come back and did so in December of 2018 to complete my astrophotography goals.
Situated along the California and Nevada borders, Death Valley is accessible via a two hour car ride from Las Vegas which hosts the nearest large airport. There is one hotel complex in the park called the Oasis which contains a ranch and a small restaurant. If you intend to explore the whole park, it would probably take about two days to hit all of the landmarks. I spent my time in the southern half of the park on both trips – taking a whole day to explore the scenery.
The above landmarks of Death Valley shots were taken in 2017. The top left is from Artist’s drive. Various volcanic eruptions which once shaped the landscaped deposited rocks with differing chemical makeups that formed into an artist’s palette of hills.
Top center is taken from the salt flats of Badwater. At 300 feet below sea level, Badwater is one of the driest and hottest parts of the valley.
Top right is the Devil’s Golf Course. Erosion has snarled the salt deposits into boulder like formations. I imagine you would never be able to find your golf ball after one stroke should you play this ‘course’.
Bottom left is the old Borax Factory. A sun desiccated structure sitting in the central part of the valley.
Bottom center was taken at Zabriski Point. It features the natural sand dunes found at the entrance to the park.
Finally, bottom right is from Dante’s Peak, a summit six-thousand feet above the valley. I climbed out on a rock ledge to get that shot of the California wildfire cloud cover pouring over the valley.
I attempted some night photography in 2017 on the Oasis hotel grounds. Unfortunately, the cloud cover never fully broke, so my attempts (above) were met with mixed success.
In 2018, I returned to capture the night skies. This time I was much more successful, capturing two awesome star trail shots. I also successfully snagged the Milky Way in a few shots. I filmed at two locations: In Badwater on the salt flats and on the summit of Dante’s Peak. Even with the valley’s reputation as a dark star park, there was still light pollution visible on the horizon line in most of my shots. Here are the best images of the 2018 trip:
