Joshua Tree / Mojave Desert Photo Tour - April 22nd “ Mojave to Joshua Tree ”
April 23, 2013 at 8:11 AM
Today we departed Mojave Desert and traveled 4 hours to the south to Desert Palm which will be our home base for the next four days. While in this region we will be photographing in Joshua Tree National Park and at the Sultan Sea.
We traveled right through the centre of the Mojave Desert today. Drove for some time on Route 66 though Amboy then onto Palm Springs, California. This afternoon we had some free time, then met up in the evening for a sunset photo shoot near the thousands of windmills in the valley outside of Palm Springs. This region of the valley has very high winds. You will notice a slight haze in the sunset images at the bottom of todays blog. That haze is blowing sand!!! It was still a great experience.
Good night as it’s time to rest before departing for Joshua Tree at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Our first series this evening are sunset and night photography up at Black Canyon in the Mojave Desert.
The setting sun and the large boulders made great backdrops for tonights shoot.
The sage brush took on a beautiful glow as the sun started to set.
Large round boulders that can be found at Black Canyon. Beautiful mountains in the background.
There was a fire that wiped out all the trees, as life returns the old burnt trees add interesting shadows.
More of the landscape being painted with the setting sun.
We decided to set up at this location for the sunset and after dark photography.
It was a beautiful evening the temperature, even after sunset, never dropped below 17C.
Just moving your camera along the horizon delivered another great sunset shot.
This is the same tree by the boulder just shot from a different angle.
The colour of the evening sky was beautiful.
We then started working with adding a small amount of fill flash, working with front and rear curtain sync.
These guys decided to come out and join us after dark.
Dan trying a different angle. Don’t step forward to much!!
The sun is almost gone, time for time exposures. The moon is going to be very bright tonight.
We tried some painting with light, using some LED flashlights. To light the rocks and tree.
As the moon got brighter there was no need for the flash light. These are about 20 to 30 sec exposures.
This image was shot at the rim of the Mojave Desert as we headed further south towards Joshua Tree.
Can you make out the rock formation that looks like a woman curled up?
Get your Pics or Route 66 ....
The infamous little town of Amboy
Photo shoot at Roy’s Gas Station
Roy’s Hotel ...
Great cars to add to the images at Roy’s today.
More of the photo shoot at Roy’s.
Roy’s with a touch of Sin City ...
The mountains make a great backdrop.
See the difference a reflector makes.
Some of the thousands of power windmills in the valley as you approach Palm Desert.
Windmills as far as the eye can see.
A great source of power to this region. Also make for great images.
They look surreal as you come round the bend on the free way.
We returned to the windmills for some sunset images. As far as the eye can see.
The valley is just like a wind tunnel, perfect for windmill generated power.
One last sunset image, the windmills you see high on the hill, they go deeper than the eye can see.
Good night from Desert Palm, California. Tomorrow will be our first shoot in Joshua Tree National Park.
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Very exciting images in this group, with some great sunsets and the near darkness and after dark images are stunning.
Have fun all and keep the batteries charged.. ;-o)
Jerry