Paul Gardner

Our second day in Death Valley National Park was to be spent getting into the park and down to Racetrack Playa to see the racing rocks. Lindsay and I woke up early in the morning for sunrise and some breakfast and then packed up camp and got on our way. We still had a good distance to cover on unpaved road before getting to "civilization". We pressed onward into the park with our first stop at Scotty's Castle to try to fuel up and get some more ice for the food cooler. The drive into Death Valley takes you on a plunging 4000 foot drop from where the sand dunes were. Once at the bottom of the valley its nothing but a gravel straight away. I had a good time sitting on the roof rack of the car taking photos while Lindsay tore down the road.



When we got to Scotty's Castle there was a nice big sign saying NO GAS! Not a real problem though we had plenty to get down to the Playa and back. We got what we needed at the store there and then headed on to our second stop a few miles away at Ubehebe Crater.



The crater was pretty interesting and we thought for a second we might hike down to the bottom but realized once we started down the trail that walking back up the 500 feet of very loose gravel and rock was not going to be that much fun; especially after our trek up the 700 foot Eureka Sand Dunes. We opted to stay on the rim with all the other tourists.



After a short hike to Little Ube Crater we got back in the Jeep and started the 27 mile washboard road down to racetrack playa. Racetrack Road is probably one of the worst washboard roads I have ever been on in my life and my Jeep agreed with me a little later on in the trip. We made it down to the playa in one piece and stopped at the north end to see the Grandstand; a big black rock sticking up out in the middle of a perfectly flat lake bed; really odd. Most of the racing rocks are found at the very south end of the playa on the Racetrack. We decided to skip the racetrack and go setup camp 2 miles farther south and take a much needed nap and then come back at sunset. After Lunch and a few hours of napping we drove back up to the playa and hiked the half mile out to the racetrack to find the racing rocks. Once out there the rocks aren't hard to find. Everywhere we looked there were rocks of all sizes with trails going in every direction possible with no pattern or logical motion. One would think that all the rocks would just blow in a straight line all in the same direction. Not so here. Over time the rocks have zig zagged every which way possible. There is no definitive answer to how the rocks move but plenty of theories; most involving lots of wind and rain. I have a few of my own theories which I documented with photos. We stayed at the Racetrack until sunset and then headed back to camp for a hot fire and dinner. After dinner and lots of debate we decided to go back to the playa at night to try to find a really nice rock/trail and photograph it with star trails. It was pretty intimidating walking out into pure darkness and crossing our fingers that we would be able to find our way back to the car with no visible references. We didn't last very long out on the playa at night, the temperatures dropped into the high 30's really fast that night (in the morning our tent was completely covered in ice). I took a couple test shots, got my photo composed and then took a single 10 minute exposure. After that it was just too cold to stay out there. On our way back to the car I was able to put my astronomy skills to work and use the stars and some mountain peak shapes to navigate a straight line back to the car. Back at camp, we threw the last bits of wood in the fire to give us some heat as we went to sleep.



Day 2 finished.

The rumors are true and I was indeed in Death Valley this weekend. I have wanted to do a big back country, offroading, photo adventure in Death Valley for some time now. I finally found the perfect weekend to give it a go. Lindsay and I packed up my jeep on Thursday in between lunch turkey and dinner turkey and headed north bright and early Friday morning. The plan was to drive up to Lone Pine and take Death Valley Road all the way into the park. Our first stop though was the 700 foot high Eureka Sand Dunes; one of the largest dune fields in the country. A good portion of Death Valley Road through the mountains was paved but the last 35-45 miles to the sand dunes were maintained gravel roads. Once we got to the sand dunes we setup our camp right at the base of the dunes and started hiking up the long winding ridges of the dunes to get to the top. The hike was way longer and more strenuous than we thought but it was well worth the view. From the top we were able to see the entire dune field as well as several other mountain ranges that were covered in snow. I thought it was pretty cool to be in a place like Death Valley and always be able to see mountains with snow.



After getting to the top of the dunes we slid down a 700 foot dune face and  hiked back to camp on flat solid ground. There was still a little light left so we decided to hop in the jeep and go explore another section of the dune field via some muddy, rain soaked trails.



Having a capable 4 X 4 was a must for several sections of the road and the wear and tear on the car (more of that later) paid off with some incredible views.





We wrapped up the first day with a great fire, some good camp cooking courtesy Lindsay and a great view of Venus, Jupiter and the rest of the Milky Way. It is such a wonderful feeling to be camped out in the middle of nowhere over 2 hours from the nearest small town. Complete silence and isolation.



Day 1 Done!

In a previous post I made, I commented on my distaste for the crowds of photographers that are typically found at the big parks all trying to get the same shot. At a park like Yosemite the impact isn't readily seen since there are big paved parking areas and sidewalks at the overlooks for people to setup their tripods. But in a remote and beautiful place like Racetrack Playa in Death Valley the overuse is readily seen. While there were no hoards of photographers while I was there (I counted 5 at the most for sunset and myself for sunrise) I could easily see where the popular racing rocks were and where the photographers setup. My fiancee and I were really disgusted at how badly the area was treated by photographers eager to setup their tripods to get the shot. The ground in front of one rock that was particularly close to the parking area was completely torn up from people walking on the damp lake bed and setting up their tripods and digging in to get stable. It upset me that people would be so careless with such a one of a kind resource. I shot the majority of my shots there without a tripod save for a few later in the evening and at night. When I did use a tripod I made sure I didnt "set" in the ground or put any uneeded pressure on it leave scars on the ground. So all I am saying is to tread lightly and think before setting down a tripod on fragile soil and don't setup where someone else has obviously setup; if not for the sake of the land but for orginalities sake. I found it no problem to stop down to f/22 and bump up the ISO a little during the day and at sunset to avoid having to use a tripod. Night shots and dusk shots are another story, a tripod is a must but every little bit of protection of the land helps.

This weekend I am up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Right now there is a typical Fall Nor'Easter blowing through and the ocean is really angry. Seas are around 4-7 feet and rising. I came home late this evening and noticed that I could see the white water really well. At first I thought that the moon was lighting up the white water of the waves but there was no moon. Then I thought it was a few street lights shinning on the ocean but I could see waves way out to sea and there were really no lights bright enough on my block to make it to the water. Then I noticed that the waves out farther were green compared to the white waves closer to shore. I then realized what I was seeing. It was bioluminescence. I walked out on the beach where it was nice and dark and let me eyes adjust to the darkness and was treated to a sight I have never seen in all my years hanging out on the outer banks. As each wave broke, green light would light up all the way down. Farther out past the sand bar where the waves weren't as large and just the peaks capped white, the green and blue light was unmistakeable. As I write this now I can look out my front window and see the colors in the water. When I started taking photos the moon had risen and was creating moon rays as it peaked in and out of the clouds. What a sight! Enjoy!

Last but certainly not least is a set of images from up at Glacier Point. This view takes my breath away every time. I always forget how large half dome is from the point. I made it up here my first full day in the park this trip and went up just in time for an awesome snow storm. Temperatures were hovering around 28-30 degrees F and there was a brisk breeze on top. Regardless I spent about 5 hours up at Glacier Point watching the white puffy clouds roll across the valley casting shadows and rays of light across the granite. Eventually the snow storm that had been in the forecast started to show its face. Off the in the distance I could start to see whisps of snow coming out of the clouds. Eventually the clouds got darker and closer and the temperature started plummeting into the low 20's. I stayed and shot the clouds rolling across half dome while snow flurries fell all around me. Just my kind of photography; adverse conditions always make the great photo more worth all the trouble. Eventually conditions went to a near total whiteout and the park rangers kicked everyone off the point.

By the end of the trip I had finally figured out what I should have been focusing on to get a unique photo: The mayhem of the park. The photos of the scenic views are really a complete illusion of what this park is like. I am not saying that its not beautiful because it is some of the most amazing land in the world. But the truth is that when you drive around the park there are orange cones and barrels lining the road way all around the park, constructions signs, heavy machinery and hoards of people driving like crazy people to get a parking spot. There are long lines to get unhealthy food at Yosemite Village and even larger crowds of photographers at all the hot spots. I took a single shot that I think is the start of my theme for my next visit to Yosemite; I plan on documenting the chaos in this park (at least in the valley, the real Yosemite is out in the backcountry). This photo shows how many people are there crammed into these view areas all trying to get the same shot. I tried to get the shot they were getting, no reason not to, it was a gorgeous scene. With 20 people crammed tripod to tripod it was impossible so I opted to photograph the photographers. In the end I shot over someone's shoulder at a higher ISO so I didn't have to use a tripod and got the shot. I personally don't even like the shot and thought the other less crowded views were better. In the end it is still great that all those people have gotten off the couch and made an effort to enjoy the great outdoors.

Continuing my quest for unique photos in the park I stayed up pretty late to photograph the usual scenes but at night. I thought that I would be in complete solitude in the evening but as I stood on the main road in front of El Capitan I had to battle with a steady stream of cars pouring into the park all night long. I wasn't able to get a single 5 minute exposure off without a car driving past me and lighting up all the foreground and ruining the shot. Luckily switching the shots to black and white made it a little better looking. I have kind of developed a love hate relationship with this park. It is so beautiful yet so overcrowded (I am not part of the solution to that problem by any means). Maybe I am just selfish and want to enjoy the park without anyone there, which will never happen. It really bothered me to stand at a overlook and spend several hours there taking it in and thinking about what I was really looking at and then have 3 tour buses pull up and unload 300 people who walk out and take a quick snapshot and get back on the bus. I think it should be a entrance requirement that you spend at least an hour at any one spot to enjoy it. Photos are a great keepsake but it doesn't compare to sitting there and letting the scale of the area sink in and blow your mind. All that to say that even at night I wasn't able to get away from the crowds that rush to this park year round to hopefully enjoy its beauty.

One technique I used in hopes of creating a unique view of Yosemite was to shoot digital infrared. My Nikon D3 with liveview has revolutionized infrared. Composition, focus and metering are all made easy with the live view feature as it is capable of seeing the IR wavelengths that the human eye can not see. Infrared always makes a familiar scene completely new. An ordinary mid day scene of green trees is transformed into a wonderful winter wonderland or so you think. The filter I used for these shots is called a Hoya R72 (for those interested in giving IR photography a try).

I spent three and a half days this weekend in the Valley of Yosemite National Park. My original intent was to really focus on finding a new and unique perspective of the park through my photographs. I failed at this goal miserably. As usual I was sucked into the grand, breathtaking views that the park offers along with the hoards of tourists coming off the buses. The views from the standard view points are so grand that it really overwhelms my senses and I can't help but sit and gawk like every other tourist. As a result of this I took more or less the same photo over and over again and it turned out to be a great timeline of a day in the park. One of my favorite views is the Tunnel View where there is a great overlook of the valley with Bridal Veil Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome. On this weekend I was lucky enough to have a cold front push through which provided all kinds of interesting weather. The conditions ranged from perfect cloudless skies all the way to total white out conditions from a snow storm and just about everything inbetween. I enjoyed coming to that same view multiple times during the day to see how the light had moved through the valley and watching it play along the cliffs. I spent several hours at a time there just starring out into the valley waiting for the right clouds and rays of light to hit El Capitan. I even had someone come up and ask me what I was doing since I had all my fancy camera gear setup but was just sitting there with it not taking any photos. My answer was simple; I was enjoying and waiting. The shots here are presented in chronological order from morning to evening over a couple days.

For the past week or so I have been flying on a Twin Otter for work with AVIRIS (Imaging spectrometer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) collecting data for the scientific community at various sites around California. I have been fortunate enough to fly over some really spectacular scenery in an airplane that provides a really stable platform for both our science work and for me to take photos of my own when I am not operating AVIRIS. The Twin Otter I am flying on has two huge bubble windows on either side of the plane that allow me to shoot straight down without the plane having to dip a wing. The long transits to and from Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles, CA to our targets has given me plenty of time to stare out the windows and admire the geology unfolding below me. Our flights started over the La Brea Tar Pits in LA and then over Mojave and on up to the Death Valley area where we flew over Racetrack Playa, Panamint Dunes, Ubehebe Crater and the Eureka Dunes.  I have to say that flying over Death Valley was absolutely breath taking; definitely ranks up high on my list of coolest things I have ever seen. There was such a huge variety of colors and geology in one place. Whoever thinks the desert is boring hasn't seen Death Valley from the air (or the ground for that matter)! The following day took us all the way up the San Andreas Fault line from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I had never seen the San Andreas Fault and couldn't believe that it really was a huge crack in the ground that went north as far as I could see. I didn't have much time to take photos in the South Bay Area (Palo Alto) but I did manage to get a few when we landed in Monterey area for lunch. There were lots of great farm field patterns and coastal views along the landing there. One aspect of the aerial photos that I enjoyed was showing the interaction between humans and the landscape. It was interesting to be flying over empty desert and to come over the last range of mountains before the LA Basin and see the housing developments creeping into the canyons on the mountains. It also saddend me to see how destructive humans are to the land. While flying I saw so many mines and other industrial activities that completely stripped the land and made it completely unsightly. All of these photos were taken with a Nikon D3 and a 24-70 f/2.8 and were shot from anywhere between 5000 feet and 12,500 feet above ground level. Shooting through ahuge curved window around LA presented a lot of problems; focus, metering, color problems, low contrast. The poor conditions really made me have to think quick and re-evaluate how I was going to shoot the photos. In LA the haze really killed the colors and contrast and it took a pretty good deal of color correction in post processing to restore the true colors and contrast. And as seen in the very first photo; the curved window doesn't always want to behave with the shot (distortion at the edges). Most of the photos were -1 to -2 on the EV comp to battle washout from shooting through all the haze. I always enjoy aerial photography and I wish I was able to go up in a plane or helicopter and a much lower altitude to take the same kinds of shots anytime I felt like it.

Just recently I went on a quick surf trip to Mexico with my friend Mario Covic. There was a great swell and for the most part we had the break to ourselves. Even when it did get "crowded" with 23 people in the water it was still uncrowded compared to the classic Malibu point breaks where there are hundreds of people in the water even on a day with no waves. We were lucky enough to get to stay in a multi-million dollar condo owned by one of Mario's good friend's. He was kind enough to give us the "bro" deal on renting it for a night. All we had to do to get to the surf was take the elevator 12 floors down and walk down the stairs into the ocean. Couldn't have asked for a much better setup. The only downside was that we couldn't stay for more than a day. I can't wait to go back.



For more photos click HERE.

Ever since I moved out to California I have wanted to go on a trip to Alabama Hills to shoot Alabama Arch and the Sierra Nevada Mountains at sunrise. The arch there is a classic scene and is usually pretty crowded with photographers in the morning all trying to get the same shot. I had been up to the area several times on hiking trips but never had the opportunity to put some energy into getting some great landscape shots. Over Labor Day weekend Lindsay and I decided to make a last second trip to the area to do some camping, photography and offroading in my Jeep. We had a wonderful weekend in the Hills and I was able to put some serious effort into getting the shots I wanted. Typically the arch is shot at sunrise but I went at sunset the first day to try to get something unique and shoot the photo less taken. I used several remote flash units to light the arch as it was backlit by the sun. I think I managed to get some uniqe shots. The next morning Lindsay and I hiked to the arch in the dark with headlamps and setup for the sunrise. It was absolutely amazing to watch 14,000 ft mountains being lit by the rising sun. It was easy to see why so many people fall in love with the sierras.



For more photos click HERE

The Summer of 2006 was an epic photographic adventure for me. It was quite possibly one of the most prolific periods of time for me in recent memory. My travels that summer to me to Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia. In each of those states I was lucky to have plenty of time to pursue some great photographs. I covered everything from landscapes to watersports. Summer 2006 is one that I will never forget. These panoramics were taken over a 3 day period in Rocky Mountain National Park. Most of them were taken in the same area of the park: Horseshoe Meadow. Some of these are posted in my gallery but I thought it would be nice to see all of these shots in one collection. I love seeing the huge variety of colors all together. Some of these photos were taken on the same night only minutes apart, yet the colors are completely different.

These photos have been a long time coming. I keep meaning to post these photos but they keep getting pushed aside and forgotten about even though they are some of the coolest photos of the trip to Italy. My favorite panoramics are from inside the vatican. They really show the huge scale of St Peter's Bascillica.

This is a little stream in Connecticut that I played in with my cousins when I was a little kid. I was looking for a good photo to take one evening and asked my uncle if he could show me where the stream was. After several days of heavy rain the stream was running at a pretty good pace and had developed some pretty serious rapids. I only had about 10 minutes or so to take these photos; after the last shot there was virtually no light left. Afterwards we went and had some excellent local made ice cream and Collin's Creamery.