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Archive 2015 · Question on shooting in Death Valley

  
 
AMaji
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


I checked around and saw that most of the Death Valley photo workshops are held either in November or in February. However, this year, I may have some time off between Christmas and New Years. How is that time to photograph Death Valley?

I know November and February are supposedly "cloudy" months there, but I couldn't find too much information on late December.

Thank you for your help.

Maji



Feb 23, 2015 at 12:51 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


That is a fine time to photograph there. It can be quite cold, believe it or not.

Dan



Feb 23, 2015 at 06:11 PM
MalbikEndar
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


Lodging will be more full, if you need to stay in the park.


Feb 23, 2015 at 07:39 PM
Greg Campbell
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


If the climate data at Weatherspark is accurate, January, February, and March are the cloudiest months.

https://weatherspark.com/#!dashboard;a=USA/CA/Death+Valley
Graphs > Clouds (on)

In general, you can get winter storm systems moving through the area anytime from ~mid October to April. Go whenever you can schedule it!



Feb 23, 2015 at 10:12 PM
JimFox
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


Hey Maji,

Perhaps not many workshops are planned for Dec and Jan because of Christmas? People are too busy to do workshops then? Also be aware that Dec and especially Jan are very very cold there. So Nov and Feb would typically be slightly warmer.

As for clouds, the summer months are the least cloudy, but they are also the hottest so when one would least want to go to DV. From my experience you have the best chance on clouds from Sept to April. But there is no certainty when it comes to clouds in California.

So come in the winter time whenever works best for you, there is not any one special time. (excluding the Summer)

Jim



Feb 24, 2015 at 02:08 AM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


Since I'm just about completely uninterested in trying to photograph there in the intense heat and dryness, my season in DEVA extends from sometime around mid-November through the very beginning of April. At either end of that period (e.g. late November and early April) you can encounter days that seem quite summer-like and it can even be hot. I've seen 90+ degree temperatures in early April. (I've also been snowed on in DEVA in April...)

To my way of thinking, as a photographer who prefers cooler weather and more interesting skies there, my "best" season is more or less December through the end of March. (Practical considerations still often take me there during the first week of April, as will be the case again this year.) Some of my favorite photographic experiences in the park have been in the December-January time frame.

The biggest surprise for most visitors at this time of year is that it can be surprisingly cold at times. If you get out of the valley proper and out into the surrounding areas, especially the mountains, it is not at all unusual to see snow. And even when it doesn't snow, the desert climate supports wide temperature swings, which lead to some extremely cold nighttime temperatures.

Last year on one visit I experienced literally freezing temperatures in the Stovepipe Wells to Furnace Creek area on several mornings during a cold snap. A bit later the same season we were photographing high in the Panamint range... in falling snow! That was the first time in my life that I ever photographed desert wildflowers (and it was quite a bloom!) in falling snow! On another morning I was out in the far northern backcountry of the park on a winter day and I recall checking the temperature a few hours after the sun came up... and it was still in the lower 20s.

As to workshops, I think you are correct that the "workshop season" tends to come at two times in the Valley. One is during the heart of winter, when there may be fewer of them, but some of them are operated by (in my experience) some very serious and qualified photographers. (Check carefully though — not all workshops are "created equal.") The second is around the time of the potential spring bloom, and they tend to run in the "spring break" season, from perhaps mid March into the first part of April.

Finally, if you are new to Death Valley you can get to an awful lot of interested stuff without the help of a workshop. If your main reason for looking to a workshop is to have a guide to features of the park, the workshop might be less critical than if your goals are instructional. You will perhaps miss some things that you might have seen with the workshop, but you'll still see plenty of wonderful stuff. You can increase your success if you do a bit of reading ahead of time. It also helps to think a lot about the nature and direction of light in DEVA, and plan your shoots accordingly. The valley runs roughly north/south, and the implications of that for shooting various locations are probably obvious. Also, it isn't a bad strategy to do your shooting in deep and narrow canyons a bit later in the morning or earlier in the afternoon, reserving the true golden hours for subjects that are more out in the open.

Good luck!

Dan

Edited on Feb 24, 2015 at 02:58 PM · View previous versions



Feb 24, 2015 at 09:46 AM
AMaji
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Question on shooting in Death Valley


Thank you everyone for your suggestions and comments.

Dan,
a special thanks goes to you for your suggestion. I will rent a SUV from LV airport for the trip but probably need something better to photograph the racetrack. Maybe I will rent from Farabees for a day. I have been reading about photographing DV so that when the time comes, I am prepared... at least in theory

Thank you again.
Maji



Feb 24, 2015 at 10:35 AM





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