Eureka Dunes

Just returned home yesterday from spending five full days in Death Valley. Here's some from my first evening and the next mornign from Eureka dunes. Thanks for looking and C&C if you want to.

#1 Transition of Color

#2 Ebb and Flow

#3 It was pretty windy overnight and that put some dust/sand in the air giving some nice light rays.

#4 Curve-a-licious

#5 Sands of Time

#6 Heckle or Jeckle (with a hangover )

#7 Ripples and Mountains.

Surprise! No Manly Beacon, don't worry I did get there. Thanks for looking and C&C if you want to. no mas.

I'm heading to Death Valley next Tuesday for 2 weeks. Thanks for the inspiration. Never been there. Sure should beat the weather here in Michigan.

Really nice set Jeff! My favorite is #4 because it has a great rhythm to the dunes, then #5 although I would crop the sky off the top, I think it just distracts from thee dunes. I also like #6, there is great detail in the tracks. I look forward to seeing more from your trip.

Nice set, Jeff! #1 is my fav.

Very creative and excellent compositions and some exceptional light! I like each and every one of the sculpted dune images for different reasons, but the light in #3 and the 'curvalisciousness' of #4 make them slight favorites. 'Development' is near perfect, too. No nits from me there.
You did a great job out there, Jeff! Looking forward to more, for sure.

3,1, and 4 in that order are my favs. excellent work, Jeff.

Tough to pick a favorite in that batch. As John noted, each has its' own special appeal.
I think the dust created a lot of interesting light. Much better than the clear blue skies that I encountered.

Did you drive in from east or the west? When I made my first visit there this January, a Furnace Creek ranger was telling everyone how bad the road was from the east. Since I wanted to make a stop at the Alabama Hills, I took the advice, continued up Hwy 395 and came in from the west. However, I did return via the Death Valley road, and except for a few miles of bad washboard, it was pretty much a super highway, by my standards for remote desert roads.

Apparently fighter jets from Nellis AFB use the valley regularly for low pass runs. Somewhat surprising the first time it happens!

All are very well done, but 2, 4, and 5 appeal the most to me. Very well done!

Excellent Series, Jeff. If I were to pick favorites I think it would be #1 (because of the smooth transition between the warm/cool tones) & #4 (because of those curves and the subtle contrast between the smooth curves of the sand and the coarse texture of the background). Of course #6 gave me a good laugh.

Jeff,

Outstanding. Numbers 1 & 5 really got my attention. The ridge line in number 1 takes your eyes all the way through the image so that nothing is missed. The exquisite details in the sand in number 5 speak to the attention to detail you show in all the images. I've never been to Death Valley, never gave it much thought but your set makes we want to go

Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA

"When you're mediocre, you're always at the top of your game."

Nice series. Like #3 and #5 as standouts.

Nice set. 3 and 5 for me as well! the little strip of sky in 5 seems a little cramped, but I think it helps define the sense of place

Excellent series.

Eureka is a cool place. I wish I could find the time to get there more often. This series makes me want to go right now! Number 3 is my favorite. Good stuff all around.

Jeff, real nice set, with #2&3 leading the way for me. With #2, one thought may be to add some 20/50/0 image polish and adjust levels to make the dune ridges brighter and give more overall contrast.

Thank you for all the comments! Bill - I went to the dunes from Furnace Creek. We must have spoke to the same over zealous ranger, though he mellowed about the road to Eureka he practically attacked me when I asked about the road to the Racetrack. He kind of agitated me so being myself I got kind of smart telling him I know how the NPS likes to withold info about locations and over exaggerate conditions to scare people in an attempt to keep them on pavement and shuffle them in and out. He was getting in my grill about the possibility of tire punctures and that I better have 6-ply tires to even attempt it. I do have all-terrain tires, but they aren't new and at $200/hr for a tow to Pahrump I didn't go to the Racetrack and I figured I'll get back for that someday soon, but I didn't tell him that.

Doug - I test the famous Mumaw Polish to every image, if it causes halos I just go to 10/25/0. The light was actually filtered by clouds, but I'll dabble in your suggestions. Thanks for commenting.

Really powerful series, Jeff! Some of the best DV dunes photos I've seen.

Jeff, that's hilarious. I also overheard the same spiel about the Racetrack road - at least they are consistant!
The ranger pulled out a piece of razor edged quartzite and suggested the entire roadbed looked like that.
Because of that, I almost canceled the trip - why trash a set of new tires. After the easy drive, I was rather upset about the misinformation. It's long, SLOW, with severe washboard stretches. It does NOT require 4WD, nor clearance of any kind. I drove it in the dark to get there for sunrise.

Now, I did see several drivers who felt that flying low over the washboards was the best technique.
I'm sure every screw and bolt in their vehicle needed tightening after that trip !

So, I still plan to ask the Park Service about current road conditions, but certainly will seek other input before canceling a trip.
On the other hand, maybe we should be thanking the rangers for working so hard to keep the number of people to a minimum.
Wouldn't want it to start looking like Zabriskie Point at sunrise.

Nice set of images. I like 3 and 4 quite a lot, I like them even more with a little tighter crop down to the dunes. As I do a scroll crop it emphasizes the sinuous lines of the dunes more. Well done.

I agree with the post above. I like 3 and 4 the best followed by 1. Congrats on some terrific work.

3, 4 and 7 are my picks Jeff, great shots. I really like the hazy, monochrome mystery and distance of #3. 5 is nice too, but as for others, the strip of sky doesn't quite work for me.

Love the curves and the simplicity in #4.