Just prior to arriving at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley our tour passed this formation that was a rainbow of colors reflecting the copper, borax and other minerals abundant in these mountains. With limited time to shoot, I bracketed 5 shots a stop apart and finished it as an HDR image using Photomatix Pro and Lightroom.
We took a side trip from Las Vegas to Death Valley for the day. My preconceptions of Death Valley were basically shattered as we found a National Park with a huge range of geological formations in addition to its trademark salt flats. With 3.4 million acres of desert and mountains, Death Valley is the country’s largest national park. Just down from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is Zabriskie Point. With the light, texture and colors in the rocks, I could have shot there all day. It also helped that they were in the middle of a cold spell where it was about 40 degrees versus 120! Not a trip I would make in the summer months.
Red Rock Canyon is a great place to visit when in the Las Vegas area – just about 15 miles west of the Strip off State Highway 159. It is part of the National Landscape Conservation System and features a set of red rock formations as you enter the area and sandstone peaks and walls comprising the Keystone Thrust Fault. Access is from a one-way 13 mile driving loop which starts at the Visitors Center and has plenty of spots to pull off for photo ops or access to 19 hiking trails. Beth and I went out there last Friday. Clouds moved in just as we arrived and I was able to capture the last bit of sunlight out the back door of the Visitors Center before it disappeared. Then as we progressed around the driving loop it snowed for the rest of our visit…..Snow in Las Vegas…..
