Hey everyone. I’m on my flight heading back to the East coast from my recent Death Valley photography trip. I’m beat! Four days of going to bed late and getting up at Oh-Dark-Thirty takes it’s toll on you. And luckily I was smart enough to ensure I’d get no sleep by booking a 6am flight home 🙂 I’ll post some photos and a few stories/gear reviews this week but I figured I’d give you a few quick observations I had during this trip:
Btw… before we get going – above is one of my favorites from the trip (click to see it larger).
An Unexpected Lens Choice
I borrowed a Nikon 24mm f/1.4 lens to try out for this trip. I put it on while shooting my first sunrise last Friday and expected I would change out lenses pretty quickly because of it’s lack of zoom. You know what? I ended up keeping the lens on nearly all morning and only took it off when I wanted to put my longer 70-200 lens on. Then, for sunset, I again kept it on the whole time. I totally didn’t expect that and I’ll write more later this week on why I think it happened.
There Should Be An Alarm On My Camera
There SOOOO should be an alarm you can set on your DSLR that beeps when you turn your camera on if certain settings are changed (like ISO or bracketing). If you’ve ever shot at night or in low light with a high ISO of say, 3200, and then the next time you use your camera is in the morning for a sunrise shoot then you know what I mean. Just sayin’.
No Matter How Early You “Think” You’re Arriving To Your Sunrise/Sunset Shoot, It’ Not Early Enough
No matter how early you think you’re getting somewhere it’s not early enough and you always find yourself rushing. On our last morning there I’d swear we had plenty of time for sunrise (we arrived a half hour earlier then we had any other day). But after scouting for a location, setting up, etc… I still found myself rushing to catch the good light.
I Don’t Like The Sun
This one is weird. Looking through my favorite 10 photos from the weekend, I’d have to say that 7 of them are before sunrise or after sunset – mostly twilight or blue hour. I guess I just don’t like the sun 🙂
Coming Back With A Different Shot Then You Thought You’d Get
I learned this lesson years ago and it continues to be true. You have to be open to seeing things differently than you thought. Several times this weekend, I came back with a favorite photo from a location that wasn’t what I thought it would be. Like I said, I’ve known this for years, but I’m still always amazed at how often it happens.
I’ll be traveling all day today, but hopefully I’ll have some time to write some blog posts about the trip and to show you some photos (between naps of course). Have a good one!
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
very much enjoy reading…keep it up!
Hey Matt. Good stuff. Really like that shot above. Also wondering about what you thought of the 24-70 you took with you.
I like your final observation. Very true for me too, more often than not. And I’m curious as to why you think you stuck to the 24.
Hi Matt, I”m just getting back from Death Valley myself, where I spent 3 days shooting in the Furnace Creek area. Talk about cold, temperature at Dante’s View yesterday morning at sunrise was 12F, not counting wind chill!
Matt, just wondering if you used your new Versa 33 tripod instead of the traveler on this trip. I’m interested because I have the traveler and love it, but am thinking I need a heavier tripod for my landscape photography.
Hey Catherine. Yes i definitely used the Tvc33 on this one. There were some huge winds out there and a smaller tripod never would have made it.
Check out the Induro line as well; I was betwixt and between on the 314 and the 414, and went with the latter. The 314 would have done the job too, been a little lighter, but the 414’s got that extra reach.
Thanks Kevin – I’ll check it out. I am looking for a more solid tripod when I’m out shooting in wind. Big wind is too much for the Gitzo Traveler.
Great post, Matt! This shot is just spectacular! Love the lighting and shadows. Really brings the sand ripples to life! I’m looking forward to hearing more about your 24mm f1.4 lens. Looking forward to some more photos also! I’m assuming you used onOne Suit 7 to process this photo?
Thanks for the Update, looking forward to more info and photos!
Dennis
Hey Matt. Great post. I’m eager to see what you create for the night photography stuff. Have you experienced the scattered white pixels when doing long exposures with your D800? Anything I do over 1min gets lots of hot pixels even shooting at <100 ISO.. it's all over the forums. I have to remove lots of hot pixels too when I print my work because of it. I'd like to hear back from you when you get a chance. Thanks! Jeff
Ditto on being early. I like to plan a midday nap so I don’t get too tired.
If you like using the 24mm prime lens, you might want o rent a 24mm tilt-shift and give it a serious try. Make sure you get some training on how to use the tilt & shift features to their full advantage. It’s not as easy as simply reading the manual and you’ll need some practice.
The picture you posted above has some sharpening issues that could be quickly solved in-camera using tilt.
Alarm or usable (Nikon) camera shooting/setting banks that remember how you set them up, irrespective of what camera changes you make when shooting, kinda like my Canon G12 does. NOT like my D800E does… meh
Yea 24mm… I have an older f/2.8 that stays on my D800E most of the time, Fx give me 24mm and Dx gives me 36mm.
So what do you think about the Tamron 24-70mm?
#2 is sooooooooo true. I got my camera back from service, thought I had ‘reset’ everything. Found out, after the shoot, that I didn’t reset the “Image Quality” back to RAW, ugh! Why do (we) I never learn?
So true, We have ALL been there!
Ditto on the Alarm/ISO
I now restore my ISO before going to bed! LOL
Matt- Wait a minute…You don’t like the sun, but you live in the Sunshine State? In any event, I’m enjoying your advice, your photos, and your “sunny” disposition in this blog. Keep up the good work!
My thoughts exactly. If you want to stay out of the sun, come on up here to Nova Scotia. And if you want total rain, drizzle and fog, there’s always Newfoundland. LOL. Maybe we can chat about this at PSW, Matt. Great article and I’m looking forward to seeing more images and hearing more about the gear. Cheers.
Looking forward to seeing more and hopefully you will include some of your night images. Did you do any shooting later in the day with the idea of going b/w with them ? I will be able to go to Death Valley next month so please include your favorite locations.
Look forward to seeing the shots.
Looking forward to seeing the shots.
I think I’ve reached the same conclusion about the sun. The light seems better before the sunrise or after the sunset. Sometimes I may want that starburst of the sun, but it just doesn’t seem to be the moment with the best light.