Fire on the Horizon, Dante's View, Death Valley National Park

Two weeks ago, on an overcast afternoon, I went to Dante's View in Death Valley National Park hoping for some drama at sunset. When I got to the parking lot it was cold, windy, hinting at rain and not very promising. I hiked out to the view to look things over. I did not have my camera because it was looking more like "dinner time" then anything else. I wandered around considering what I would do if the sun would/could break through. I had my choice of were to work because with the clouds, wind, temperature and the appearance that rain was imminent, it was very empty and only one other person had a tripod and camera (and he was leaving as I walked by him).


It was my first visit to Death Valley National Park and it was to be my last sunset in the park for a while. I looked around for a few minutes and noticed that the earth at one saddle in the trail was a rich red color and would make a nice foreground. I hustled back to the car realizing that I was losing what little light there was, grabbed my gear and hustled back to the saddle. This image is one of a few that I created on the saddle before moving out to a point that looked more directly west (this image is actually oriented more to the north).

The sunset opportunity did not turn out like I hoped but I ended up creating several images that I really like. As I type this I am struck with the thought of what I would have missed if I gave up and headed out to find dinner.


Image particulars: Canon 5D MKII, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM at 16mm, f8, 1 second exposure, ISO of 100 and B&W Circular Polarizer. Post processing included Adobe LightRoom 3, Photoshop 5.1 and NIK Viveza 2.

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