Death Valley is one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. It packs a lot of photographic punch and is a surprisingly colorful place. From sweeping dunes to otherworldly landscape, Death Valley National Park is a must for any serious landscape photographer.

On the first day of our workshop we woke before sunrise and headed to an iconic vista of rolling badlands for sunrise. The group was extremely lucky because we had a bank of clouds in the west with a clear horizon to the east. As the sun rose above the horizon line the cloud caught a beautiful glow. It was one of the best sunrises I had ever seen at that location! Next up we drove to the other side of the mountain where we photographed an even more colorful section of the badlands.

The group took a very short break before heading back out in the field. This time we went to an old ghost town that offered a variety of subjects to photograph. It was a little bit colder than normal, but the group still managed to get some great shots. Moving on, we headed to the salt flats where we photographed pristine salt polygons as the sun set in the west.

The next morning, we woke up a little bit earlier since we had a slight further drive. Once we reached our destination, we hiked about a mile into the dune to wait for sunrise. We were lucky enough to have had a windstorm a few days before the trip started so the group had pristine dunes without any footprints on them. The group explored the dunes for some time and then hiked back to the vehicles. On our way back to the lodge we stopped to photograph desert marsh for a little while.

In the evening we headed back out with a mission to photograph some fantastic mud tiles. Overall the group got some great shots and I can’t wait to get back to this beautiful valley called Death.

Until next time,

Mike and the rest of the Aperture Academy Team

P.S. If you'd like to join us at one of our workshops, you can find the schedule/sign up here.

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