Death Valley in Winter

[jarski]

what a surreal place! have to check can I stop by there as well..

grave, mercantile and first one in post #3 were my favorites, but liked all of them, especially B&W

 

[ChrisN]

Fantastic depth in those Roland - I thought I was looking at 6x9 medium format until I got to the end of your post to see that they were made with Summicrons and Ultron. Very nice indeed.

 

[David Murphy]

Nice work - fascinating place (I need to return)

 

[Krosya]

Beautiful photos! Very well done!
Hope you will post more.

 

[Sparrow]

Nice stuff Roland, oddly I like the colour shots better than the B&W

 

[DrTebi]

Hi Roland,

I have just been to Death Valley myself. Unfortunately I had only very little time, and most of this time I spent driving to the "race track", where I thought I would find the sliding rocks, which you seem to have found according to your second image. Where did you find these? We walked around the race track for over an hour, and could only find a couple of small rocks, which had barely visible tracemarks, and were quite disappointed...

 

[dave lackey]

Roland,

Very nice, of course...what camera did you use? And more specifically, since I know nothing about Rollei film, what is the difference between the retro film and other black and white film they offer? Would there be a visible distinction in this film vs. say, Tri-X?

 

[ferider]

Wow, lot’s of new comments – thanks everybody !

Very very nice, Roland. I already commented on some of these on Flickr, but they look great here against the darker background. They're all really good, but I still like the one with the car and the dust trail the best. The color work looks good too. ('D' looks as if she is freezing in that one shot!)

The snow looks a little heavy in some of the b&w shots (maybe a metering issue?). You *might* be able to bring it up in PS. The same with some of the other black and white shots. Seems like they could use a little overall lightening up.

I think your instincts are right on about the second set. The images are not as strong as the others.

You didn't *ride* down there, did you?? That would be a great ride, though.

Ray, thanks for your comments on flickr, of course. You are right about exposure. Not sure what happened, developer a bit too cold, or not enough compensation for the red filter, but an additional stop would have helped for sure. We took the car, but this would be a great candidate to ride to for the four of us, in spring or summer, when Tioga pass is open - takes forever to get there from the south .... Check with the boss – we should plan that if you guys like.

Hi Roland,

I have just been to Death Valley myself. Unfortunately I had only very little time, and most of this time I spent driving to the "race track", where I thought I would find the sliding rocks, which you seem to have found according to your second image. Where did you find these? We walked around the race track for over an hour, and could only find a couple of small rocks, which had barely visible tracemarks, and were quite disappointed...

The bolders are at the south end of the “lake”, DrTebi. You have to pass the first parking lot and continue for another 10 minutes or so. However, on my and other photos they tend to look larger than they are (about the size of a head) - a bit deceiving.

Roland,

Very nice, of course...what camera did you use? And more specifically, since I know nothing about Rollei film, what is the difference between the retro film and other black and white film they offer? Would there be a visible distinction in this film vs. say, Tri-X?

Thanks, Dave. Rollei Retro 100 is re-packaged APX100. Tri-X would be less grainy and less contrasty, in my experience. APX100 gives me more of an old-fashioned look. These were shot with Leicas, a CV 28/1.9 Ultron, and a couple of old Summicrons.

… #2 would be killer w/o the 2 folks in it.

Charlie

Roland that second BW image is fantastic! I would print that one

I like the use of people in this series as it gives a better sense of scale. You can make up stories about poor lost travelers, or adventure seekers. Great looking shots.

PF

Will do, Thomas . I think the print will go into my office. I was going back and forth on #2, with or without the people. Here it is without:

I think I like the one with people better, after all.

Thanks again everybody,

Roland.

 

[ampguy]

Great set Roland! I like the bw and the color ones equally. In some of the bw ones, the grain seems a bit high to me, like in #4, and some seem over-sharpened, but it may the be dense ppi of my screen showing that, relative to the screen you're editing on.

Would make great photos for a book or to hang on the walls.

 

[divewizard]

nice shots! I should drive there when I have a few days.

Thanks!

 

[DrTebi]

The bolders are at the south end of the “lake”, DrTebi. You have to pass the first parking lot and continue for another 10 minutes or so. However, on my and other photos they tend to look larger than they are (about the size of a head) - a bit deceiving.

Thanks for your reply. I knew we should have wondered further down south!
Anyway, I can't wait to go back, I really like Death Valley. It's a tough time in Winter though--not so much because of the weather, but because you only have a few hours of sunshine!

 

[xxloverxx]

The 2nd photo in the last B&W post looks absolutely unreal — the mountains in the back look like some sort of backdrop. Beautiful set.

 

[helen.HH]

STUNNING Work Ro...Exquisite
The B&W are Fantastic...rich in Detail ...stellar Tones
and the Color set makes the Desert Come Alive !

 

[dave lackey]

Roland,

Forgot to ask... the photos are certainly very good and I am stunned by the scans. My local lab really does a terrible job with mine and Dwayne's was even worse.

How do you get such good scans?

 

[ferider]

Thanks, Ted, Chris, xxloverxx and Helen !

I scan myself, Dave, with a Nikon film scanner.

Best,

Roland.

 

[shadowfox]

Excellent as usual, Roland.

The 3rd photo (graves?) is my absolute favorite.
Now that's three-deee, man!