On My Way to Death Valley
Uuuugh. A 5am wake-up is never fun. But I’m safely at the airport waiting for my flight to Las Vegas for a four day photo workshop in Death Valley, NV, with John Paul Caponigro. It’ll be a reunion of sorts: at least four other people on the trip were also in Antarctica with me last year.
I’m really looking forward to shooting in the Southwest again, and having four dedicated days to do it without interruption. I’m also looking forward to getting critical feedback on photos, both from the trip and of prints I’m bringing with me for review. Several of the prints are part of the B&W square series I’m working on from the Washington coast.
It’s also a chance to test out some new gear. My workhorse backpack, a Tamrac Expedition 5, has been replaced with a new Clik Elite Escape. It’s the best I could find that would hold the gear I carry on a regular basis that included a cushioned hip strap. We’ll see how it works!
From a lens perspective this trip is exciting for two reasons: new lenses and borrowed lenses. On the new lens front my 70-200 f/2.8L IS II arrived yesterday, to replace my original model of the same lense. The 70-200 is my workhorse so I’m very excited to put the new version through its paces. I also caved and bought a Lensbaby Composer with soft focus and zone plate/pinhole optics. I blame David for this purchase, since he’s constantly lending me his when we head to the Washington Coast for photos. I also have a 17 TS-E on loan from lensrentals.com. I’m not expecting it’ll be used that often, but there will almost certainly be a few occasions where it’s a necessity.
So that’s the scoop. Hopefully I’ll have some Internet access while on the trip to post updates (assuming there is time between shooting, reviewing images, and eating!)
Have you ever gone to Death Valley? What was your experience?
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