Here are two more pinhole photos from the recent trip to Death Valley. We are making plans to drive north tomorrow to Bridgeport to visit Bodie. It has been several years since I made a trip to Bodie so it will be good to visit again. This will be Bodie’s (my Golden Retriever) first trip to the place that he was named after.
Last night was a busy night at camp. Unable to sleep in the hot, dry wind at Furnace Creek, we decided to repack both vehicles by moving all of the camera, kitchen, and darkroom gear over to the Landcruiser. It’s a good thing we did because the truck is no longer with us. Early this morning as we were driving down Towne Pass in the mountains coming into Panamint Valley, I smelled burning brakes and pulled over. Upon getting out of the Toyota which I was driving, I looked over at Jim getting out of the truck but couldn’t see his face because of all the smoke that was billowing up from the truck wheel wells. The next thing that I saw was Jim throwing water from a 1 gallon container onto the wheels. The thing kept burning. I ran for the back of the truck to get the dog out to safety while Jim continued his valiant fire fighting efforts. Meanwhile, the motorcycles were zooming by craning their necks to watch the show. Bodie and I leaped down into a nearby wash so I could tie him but all I found were rocks. In a panic I yelled over to Jim to move the Landcruiser further away from the truck. He paused in his vigorous water splashing and ran in flip-flops and a straw hat down to the Toyota. Our audience continued blazing down the hill. With the fire out and no cell signal, we hopped into the Landcruiser and headed for the nearest tow yard, Miller’s, in Lone Pine. There we learned that another couple had it much worse in Panamint Valley the night before. Their vehicle got stuck in the sand out in the bush and since they had triple A, no one would tow them. So they dug themselves out. This put our plight in perspective so we gave a big smile to the tow man and presented our triple A card…
Middle Basin, Death Valley, CA. Zero45, Fuji FP100B with reducing back, and a yellow filter.
Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley, CA. Zero45, Fuji FP100B with reducing back, and a yellow filter.
Greetings from Death Valley National Park. A cold front descended into the Owens Valley a few day ago bringing high winds and cooler temperatures. We braved it out for three days, broke camp, and headed for warmer weather. This week marks 60 days on the road, and 50-something days camping in Eastern California. It has been sunny and warm this weekend in Death Valley. We spent the first night at Emigrant and on day two, headed north for Scotty’s Castle. I found a row of vintage rigs in the parking lot and made several nice images there. Mesquite Springs was nearly empty that night with only a few campers. Our neighbor at Mesquite, Dallas, had been out camping for 50 days. Born in the 1930’s. he was touring the area from Montana, solo. We were quite impressed with his enthusiasm and compact desert camp. Tonight we’re camping at Furnace Creek with our tent tucked under a scrubby evergreen and a tarp draped over camp for shade. There’s a breeze but it’s still pushing 100 in the shade at 190 feet below sea level. I made several images near Twenty Mule Team and another of Middle Basin on the alluvial fan coming out of Artist Drive. The sun peaked out for that one creating an irresistible scene of epic contrast. Since it’s really warming up again, we’re leaving Furnace Creek tomorrow for higher ground in the Panamint Range. Signing off from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center…
So here we are at camp feasting on Wasa crackers, spreadable cheese, and watermelon. This evening we had to exercise our main source of power out here in the bush, the battery on the truck. With the inverter plugged in charging the laptop, we set out for an evening drive along the east side of the Owens Lake sand dunes. I set up the pinhole on the side of the highway as the clouds were making a particularly dramatic appearance with the setting sun. This shot was difficult because of the bright setting sun, camera light leaks, and haze. With a yellow filter, I was hoping for more contrast but the final print is a bit flat. The exposure was 1 second. The massive cloud toward the left side of the image reminded me of a wave, suspended in the sky.
Here’s one that Jim took on the side of the highway. At this point in the pinhole session, I had hung my hoodie over the camera back to resolve the light leaks. It does the trick and I think the pinhole looks quite jaunty all dressed up.
This photo was made at Sunset from our campsite near Mt. Whitney. Jim was out shooting with my pinhole camera while I was busy digesting dinner. He frantically kept tossing prints at me and finally I came out to have a look. Clouds! I quickly wrestled the pinhole away from him and unknowingly made my first panoramic diptych. This was a 5 second exposure with a yellow filter. Looks like we’ll be packing up and heading out to Death Valley for more panoramas…
Here’s my Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day photo:
#367
Keeler Railroad Station, Keeler, CA
We’re back in Owens Valley after a week in Jerome. We returned to find thick smog and haze in the valley. The first day we were back, we thought the wind was causing the haze. However, a thick brown smog has filled the valley even on calm windless days. I think it’s blowing up from Ridgecrest or Palm Springs. In all the years I’ve been visiting this area, I’ve never seen smog in the valley.
I brought back a car load of photo gear to supplement the two car loads of other gear that we already had. I’m excited about having my view camera, gold-thiourea chemicals, and a box of POP with me. I set up the view camera yesterday and taught Jim how to use it. I’m hoping to add a pinhole to the view camera in the coming weeks since the Zero45 is leaking light. We expanded our camping gear to include a larger tent, an extra cook stove, and 3 more solar showers. We now have the capacity for 20 gallons of hot water per day.
Today we ventured over to the Darwin Hills area just east of the Inyo Mountains to revisit a Joshua Tree that I’ve admired since our arrival here. The tree stands alone in the center of a round pull out. I used a yellow filter to cut through the haze and a 1 second exposure.
Heading back to Owens Valley, we took a short detour to the south side of Owens Lake to check out Dirty Socks Hot Springs. It’s called “Dirty Socks” because it smells like dirty socks, and by the way, it’s for sale. My dog Bodie had a lovely swim in the overflow pond next to the pool proper. Now he smells like dirty socks too.
Back at our campsite, the purple wildflowers are in full bloom. They are particularly elegant at sunset…
Signing off from camp in Owens Valley, CA…
Hello from Arizona. I’m here for a week picking up my printer and view camera which are in storage here. I was hoping to turn around and head back to the Eastern Sierra in a few days, but the compressor on my truck’s AC unit began to collapse in the Mojave so the car is in the shop. Looks like I won’t be heading back until early next week. This photo was taken a few days ago just off of Saline Valley Road in Death Valley. As I recall, the dirt road shown in the photo leads to Lee’s Mine but I’ll have to double check that on my topo map which is back in California. I was having fun with filters that day and decided to make this image with a purple filter…
I visited Ballarat today a semi-ghost town in the Panamint Valley. Ballarat is in the area where Charles Manson and his followers fled after the Los Angeles murders. The truck that I photographed was supposedly owned by Charles Manson according to some. However, it was in the hands of Charles Tex Watson before he met Manson so I think it’s more likely that it was originally owned by Tex Watson. This was the vehicle Tex Watson drove as he was fleeing Ballarat after the police raided Barker Ranch. Barker Ranch is located in a remote area in the mountains above Ballarat. The interior roof of the vehicle has pentagram star graffiti left by Manson and his followers. The town has a fascinating mining history having been the long time residence of Seldom Seen Slim, a famous Death Valley prospector. It’s really too bad that Manson’s infamy has overshadowed the rich history of this area.
Charles Manson Truck. Ballarat, CA.
Paved Road Again. Ballarat, Ca.
Rusted. Ballarat, CA.
This was recorded yesterday in the little ghost town of Randsburg, CA. The town is located about 90 miles south of Lone Pine. I was hoping to find more to photograph there but unfortunately, many of the old buildings look too touristy for my photographic taste.
Santa Barbara Church, Randsburg, CA.
