p.1 #1 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
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I got into night photography last year and the Race Track has been on my bucket list since. Needing a summer'ish MW, I finally made the trip last week during the new moon and (not surprisingly) had a few clear nights to play with. The blacks got killed in the photobucket upload but you get the general idea. Shot with Sony A7r, Zeiss 21mm, and multiple diffused LED's. Somehow I ended up being the only person out there that night but I won't complain Enjoy!
p.1 #6 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
I hate to be the one to point it out, but I have a pretty strong suspicion that one of those rocks was placed there by a person and not moved there naturally.
It has been a while since I've been to the playa, though I used to go there frequently before it became so popular. On my last couple of visits I encountered missing rocks and rocks that had been moved. I pretty sure that this is the explanation for your double rock at the end of a single track. (There are pairs of rocks that are close to one another out there, but all of them that I've seen had separate tracks.)
I just waded through a ton of online photographs trying to find another with those two rocks, and came up empty handed—though it shouldn't be too hard to find given the long straight track with the slight bend in the distance.
While I'm not able to say definitively what happened here—no, while I know quite a few of the rocks individually, I don't know them all—I have to wonder just a bit if this is another unfortunate example of people messing with the features of the playa.
p.1 #8 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
Thank you for the comments guys! Thankfully I managed a few good sunsets there as well that I'm processing. It was a good mix of weather but unfortunately it's the only clouds that I saw while in DV.
gdanmitchell wrote:
I hate to be the one to point it out, but I have a pretty strong suspicion that one of those rocks was placed there by a person and not moved there naturally.
It has been a while since I've been to the playa, though I used to go there frequently before it became so popular. On my last couple of visits I encountered missing rocks and rocks that had been moved. I pretty sure that this is the explanation for your double rock at the end of a single track. (There are pairs of rocks that are close to one another out there, but all of them that I've seen had separate tracks.)
I just waded through a ton of online photographs trying to find another with those two rocks, and came up empty handed—though it shouldn't be too hard to find given the long straight track with the slight bend in the distance.
While I'm not able to say definitively what happened here—no, while I know quite a few of the rocks individually, I don't know them all—I have to wonder just a bit if this is another unfortunate example of people messing with the features of the playa.
Interesting Dan, I didn't even consider that someone may have "put" the smaller rock in front as I stick to the don't-ever-touch-a-thing philosophy. This was my 2nd time to the Racetrack and I did notice a lack of rocks in comparison to my first visit over three years ago and there were plenty of "empty" tracks where it appears people have taken the rocks. I didn't even question the two rocks in this picture but you may very well be correct. Either way, it did strike me as a bit more interesting than the other solo rocks though I certainly didn't move anything while out there. I just wish people could keep their hands to themselves if someone did move these rocks into place.
p.1 #9 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
The two rocks caught my attention, but I am not allowing that to bother me. A nice dramatic image here. Perhaps straightening the racetrack horizon would be nice. And the sky is a bit past the point of believable brightness for a night image. A very attractive result, still.
p.1 #13 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
Fantastic composition. I love how at the bottom the rock is on the bottom right, and the racetrack trails on towards the left. Also I think you balanced the amount of sky/ground in the composition perfectly. Great colors too!
p.1 #15 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
Such a beautiful capture. I second straightening the horizon. Also, the rock/object near the horizon is a bit distracting but maybe that's just me... Congrats!
p.1 #16 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
Interesting composition, with track being parallel to Milky Way, and very nice execution.
I do not recall seeing double rocks on a playa, but in a picture, the base layer of clay looks like the front rock was there forever.
p.1 #17 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
I'd rather see someone stick a rock somewhere than to remove them. Last year we found plenty of tracks with WAY too many missing rocks.
Anyway, I like the foreground lighting a LOT. The sky . . . just a style choice, but I'd darken the sky. The foreground is so cool, I would rather see the strongest light there. I'd also maybe do a bit of color grading to match the stars to the foreground. The magenta/green/orange detracts slightly from the foregrond and something more blue/red would complement the overall palette better (to my eye anyway).
p.1 #19 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
I really appreciate the constructive feedback!! It's quite helpful. The horizon was actually straight (though the A7r built-in level isn't quite as sensitive as the 6D I'm used to), the playa just curves closer to you towards the left of the frame. Either way it was a bit distracting so I'll fix that and clone out the larger rock in the center of the frame.
alatoo60 wrote:
Interesting composition, with track being parallel to Milky Way, and very nice execution.
I do not recall seeing double rocks on a playa, but in a picture, the base layer of clay looks like the front rock was there forever.
Sasha.
I gave the rock a closer look and it is definitely embedded into the clay playa. So whoever moved it, assuming someone did so, must have done that long ago. It looks pretty well planted there.
Slabshaft wrote:
I'd rather see someone stick a rock somewhere than to remove them. Last year we found plenty of tracks with WAY too many missing rocks.
Anyway, I like the foreground lighting a LOT. The sky . . . just a style choice, but I'd darken the sky. The foreground is so cool, I would rather see the strongest light there. I'd also maybe do a bit of color grading to match the stars to the foreground. The magenta/green/orange detracts slightly from the foregrond and something more blue/red would complement the overall palette better (to my eye anyway).
I'll mess around with some of the colors a bit to see what I come up with. Shooting at night and getting a good balance between the sky and foreground when using LED's can always be a bit of a challenge.
p.1 #20 · Milky Way over the Race Track, Death Valley
rparchen wrote:
I got into night photography last year and the Race Track has been on my bucket list since. Needing a summer'ish MW, I finally made the trip last week during the new moon and (not surprisingly) had a few clear nights to play with. The blacks got killed in the photobucket upload but you get the general idea. Shot with Sony A7r, Zeiss 21mm, and multiple diffused LED's. Somehow I ended up being the only person out there that night but I won't complain Enjoy!
Stunning shot and one of the best results of light painting posted here. Nice soft light with a nice fall off to the dark background. Good stuff.
Regarding the dual rocks. They look natural. Both rocks look to have similar weathering.
Enjoy!
