Photo Blog by Rajan Parrikar » California

Storm over Death Valley

Rajan P. Parrikar — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:02:46 +0000

I was fortunate to catch the frisson of an incoming storm this March in Death Valley, California. With conditions changing by the minute, I kept shuttling back and forth between the Westside Road that cuts through the Badwater basin and Zabriskie Point.

Ominous clouds form over the northern end of the Badwater salt pan, as seen from Westside Road.

Storm brewing over Badwater basin in Death Valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L

It was a marvellous sight at Zabriskie Point. Notice the giant alluvial fan spreading out from the mouth of the canyon on the far side of the Badwater basin.

Storm clouds loom over Manly Beacon at Zabriskie Point
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

The colourful mineral-laden mudstone hills near Zabriskie Point contrast with the grey weather all around.

Storm in Death Valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trail of Borate, Death Valley

Rajan P. Parrikar — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:26:25 +0000

The first rays of the sun melting the crest of the Panamint Range at Zabriskie Point in California’s Death Valley make for the purest of eye candy. A clutch of photographers can be reliably found there at dawn jockeying for slots on the mound overlooking the badlands. It is easy to be seduced by this iconic location and overlook other photographic opportunities right next door. On this morning, I explored compositions figuring the borate-laden hills lined up along the highway near Zabriskie Point. With an assist from the early morning light the warm yellow hills cut a crisp picture.

Borate-laden hills in Death Valley, California
5D Mark II, 24-105L

The black & white interpretation of the above image also makes for a compelling image.

Death Valley, California
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles – Moonrise & Moonscape

Rajan P. Parrikar — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:07:51 +0000

Moonrise over the Trona Pinnacles.

Moonrise at Trona Pinnacles
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

After my first magical evening, I made two more jaunts to the Trona Pinnacles later that same week hoping to frame other perspectives especially from the far south end of the lake bed. Unfortunately, on both these occasions the light was nothing to feel good about. Furthermore the intensity of the wind gusts made setting up of the tripod very difficult so I walked around and explored handheld compositions with the 300mm telephoto.

Lunarscape at Trona Pinnacles
5D Mark II, 300L f/4 IS

Light and Shadow at the Trona Pinnacles

Rajan P. Parrikar — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:42:39 +0000

During a recent visit to Death Valley in California‘s Mojave Desert, I overnighted in the desert town of Ridgecrest to photograph the nearby Trona Pinnacles. This atmospheric locale has served as a setting for several well-known sci-fi movies and commercials. The basin with its Trona Pinnacles, the adjacent Searles Lake salt pan serviced by an unlikely railroad, and flanked by the Slate Range to the east and the Argus Mountains to the west, evokes an ambience that is at once enchanting, eerie, and alien.

From: Death Valley and the Northern Mojave by William C. Tweed and Lauren Davis (Cachuma Press, 2003)

As dawn approaches, the Trona Pinnacles emerge like a dream landscape from the parched bed of Searles Lake. The silhouettes of over 500 strangely shaped towers cluster together against a vast plain rimmed with distant hills. Old-timers call it Cathedral City, an apt name for such a mysterious looking place.

Although it may be hard to imagine, the Trona Pinnacles once protruded from the bottom of a deep lake. During the ice ages that occurred between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, runoff from the Sierra Nevada periodically coursed into Searles Lake…The pinnacles consist of an unusual “rock” called tufa. It resembles limestone and forms entirely underwater…

…From a distance Searles Lake looks like any other Mojave Desert salt pan. But this playa is different: its deep lakebed sediments contain 98 of the approximately 112 elements.

When I got to the Trona Pinnacles about an hour before sunset, I was dismayed to see both the eastern and western horizons plastered with a ribbon of clouds. With only two nights shy of the full moon, I had timed my visit to capture the moonrise over the Slate Mountains. Now it appeared I would be hit with a double whammy – denied both the magic hour sunlight and the rising of the moon. Adding to the irony – it was a pleasant, still, wind-free evening (my next two forays later that week were met by strong wind gusts).

Resigned to my karma, I set up shop on the ridge next to the Trona railroad and went about my business. And then something totally unexpected happened. The sun dipped below the Argus Mountains behind me and the Pinnacles suddenly came alive, awash in sweet light. I could scarcely conceal my excitement at the unfolding scene. I will let the photographs below tell the story.

Setting up for the Trona Pinnacles shoot: the thin strip of white is the salt pan
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles: sun behind the clouds when I first arrived
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles: awash in sweet light moments before sundown
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles: lengthening shadows
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Trona Pinnacles: shadow play
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles: light and shadow
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Trona Pinnacles: the lone beacon
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Trona Pinnacles
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Trona Pinnacles: moonrise
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Moon over Trona Pinnacles
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Coasting over San Francisco Bay

Rajan P. Parrikar — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:03:03 +0000

A couple of days back, I took a ride over the San Francisco Bay Area aboard a Zeppelin. These airships are built in the town of Friedrichshafen in Germany. Currently there are only 3 of them in the world – the other two are in Japan and Germany. A small company named Airship Ventures based out of Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, owns and operates the only Zeppelin airship in the United States. The tours are very professionally run and the staff & crew at Airship Ventures obviously enjoy their work.

Zeppelins are ideal for aerial photography. There is no vibration (unlike a helicopter), it coasts at an easy pace, and engine noise is not an issue. Furthermore, two of the windows in our airship opened out allowing for shooting without any glass barrier. At our cruising altitude of 1000 feet, the 3 Canon lenses I carried – 24-105L, 70-200L f/2.8 IS, and 14L II – were equal to the task.

It was a beautiful day when we took off from the Oakland airport. Unfortunately, our departure was delayed by almost two hours and this meant the sun was already at a high angle by the time we got going – the worst possible conditions from the point of view of photography. The brilliant red of the Golden Gate Bridge, for instance, was obscured for the most part, and many of the other sights were similarly handicapped.

All said and done, we had a delightful time. Perhaps I will take a sunset ride in the coming months at which time the lighting is more conducive to photography. Some tours originating from Moffett Field fly directly over the runways at SFO allowing for views of the planes landing below.

Groundstaff guides airship 'Eureka' down for landing
5D Mark II, 24-105L

'Eureka' comes in to land
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Loading passengers
5D Mark II, 14L II

And off she goes!
5D Mark II, 14L II

View from the cockpit
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Alcatraz Island
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Bay Bridge
5D Mark II, 14L II

Golden Gate Bridge
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Golden Gate Bridge
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

City of San Francisco
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Back

Rajan P. Parrikar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:24:57 +0000

I took time off from blogging during September to tend to matters in need of more immediate attention. Regular programming will resume shortly.

For now, here are a couple of candid pictures of mine taken by Sanjeev Trivedi during our excursion earlier this Spring through Death Valley, California.

Photo by: Sanjeev Trivedi" title="At the Stovepipe Wells sand dunes in Death Valley" width="900" height="560" class="size-full wp-image-476 exclude" />

My solitary figure at the Stovepipe Wells sand dunes in Death Valley, California
Photo by: Sanjeev Trivedi

Photo by: Sanjeev Trivedi" title="In Death Valley" width="700" height="621" class="size-full wp-image-477 exclude" />

In Death Valley, California
Photo by: Sanjeev Trivedi

Death Valley Colours

Rajan P. Parrikar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:27:44 +0000

Early morning view from Zabriskie Point:

5D, 135L" title="Zabriskie Point, Death Valley " width="900" height="528" class="size-full wp-image-422" />

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley
5D, 135L

Ubehebe Crater, late afternoon:

Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley
5D, 24-105L

Death Valley Jaunt

Rajan P. Parrikar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:19:34 +0000

Filled with geological wonders and haunting vistas, Death Valley National Park in California presents a fertile playground for the landscape photographer. These are a few of the outré sights on offer in Death Valley, taken during a quick jaunt at the end of April 2009. All the photographs below were shot with Canon EOS 5D.

View from Zabriskie Point at dawn
5D, EF 14L II

View from Zabriskie Point at sunrise
5D, EF 24-105L

Devil's Golf Course
5D, Tilt-Shift 45 mm

Artist's Drive
5D, EF 24-105L

Moving stones at Racetrack Playa
5D, 14L II

Red Cathedral seen from Golden Canyon
5D, EF 24-105L

Golden Canyon, late evening
5D, EF 24-105L

Dante's View at dawn
5D, EF 14L II