Jim Dockery wrote:
Dan, I agree on the color of this area. First visit we timed for sunset and were disappointed - until we started hiking up into the hills after the sun was down, which is when the color really came out. I was happily surprised to have the whole place to myself!
As you might know, I photograph a lot in DEVA. (In fact, at one time a DEVA lodging had my — old, and less than my best* — photographs in the guest rooms. They may still. I know they have one in a lobby area.) I've gone to Artist Palette many times... morning, midday, late afternoon, evening... and while I'm impressed by the geological implications of those colors, as a photographic subject they just have never quite done it for me. I know I'm in the minority, since I see photos of the feature all the time.
There are some "challenges" with the location, as you probably know. The colors would probably be most intense either in very early sunrise or very late sunset light... but the light is blocked by the mountains above it in the morning and by the Panamint Range in the late afternoon. (Maybe under reflected light from brilliantly lit clouds?) And, of course, midday light washes out what are rather subtle colors.
The other challenge is that we see so many photos of the feature than have the colors amped up way beyond anything like reality. I'm not at all against "optimizing" color but for those of us who like to stick a bit closer to something believable, well, you know... ;-)
While I haven't spent a lot of time on Artist Palette itself, I have photographed quite a bit on that driving loop. There are some really great features there, from the face of the Black Mountains, to the winding washes, and out across the Valley.
:-)
- - -
*The story behind the DEVA lodging prints is kind of interesting, but too long to tell here. Suffice it to say that the client selected photographs from my portfolio that I would not have chosen, and there was no (gentle) taking them out of their choices. In the end, the client is (almost) always "right." :-)
Sep 24, 2026 at 01:29 PM
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