Hottest, Driest, Lowest: Death Valley is a land of extremes. It is one of the hottest places on the surface of the Earth with summer temperatures averaging well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 centigrades. It contains the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below the level of the sea, and it is the driest place in North America with an average rainfall of only 1.96 inches a year. During the winter 2004/2005, however, Death Valley received a record rainfall; as of March 2005, Death Valley measured more than 8 inches of rain! This record rainfall caused the dormant seeds of various desert flowers to germinate, grow and fluorish at record levels as well. People flocked from all over the country to admire and of course, to take pictures of this record setting desert bloom. I came for the wild flowers but in the end, I found the dunes very fascinating as well.

The record rainfall, however, also brought some damage to Death Valley. Several access roads to some of Death Valley's "attractions" were were closed due to flooding. Zabriskie Point, Dante's View and Artist Drive were not accessible in the Spring of 2005. The first time I went to Death Valley about 22 years ago and I was overwhelmed by the variety of photogenic sceneries. Two visits later I still did not think I captured the beauty Death Valley has to offer to its full extent. There will be absolutely more trips to Death Valley for me in the not too distant future.

Update in July 2008: Two photography buddies of mine and I went to Death Valley again in the Spring of this year. The main purpose was to see the Devil's Race Track on the north side of Death Valley. For that we had to drive some 25 miles on a dirt and dusty road. In addition, we visited several spots that were not accessible in 2005. Of course, the dunes are a "must" visit.

Photographic tidbits: For the first time in 2005, captured Death Valley digitally. In addition to my trusted Canon lenses, I used a Carl Zeiss and Leica lenses adapted to my Canon body. In 2008, a Nikkor 14-24mmG zoom saw quite a bit of usage in addition to a Leica Elmarit 28mm and two Canon T&S lenses. I also resorted to a few Canon lenses for my longer focal length needs. I used a graduated Lee filter on a few shots but most the images were captured without filter. This time around, a tripod is used almost exclusively except for a few very low angle of view shots.

Enjoy the images and please feel free to leave a note on this gallery or on any of the images. Thank you for visiting.