It’s all about the sliding rocks and don’t pay attention to anything else. It’s a long boring ride out there so try sleeping or your mobile music device but certainly, don’t make any attempt to learn or study the beautiful high desert that gains in elevation and majesty as the journey continues. It’s a horrible road! It takes forever to get there!

The above paragraph contains statements, and only just a few of the things I’ve overheard and also how I feel about the area that is the playa known as The Racetrack in Death Valley National Park. The subtle beauty of this area is overpowering and a most perfect setting for the phenomena of the sliding rocks.

And YES it is a long way out there and the road at times is slow, wash-boarded and even impassible at times. Even at good times it is best described as SLOW. So what is my take. Depending on route taken, the area presents treasures such as Ubehebe Crater, Scotty’s Castle and a wonderful grove of Joshua trees in a picturesque pass not to mention the obligated stop to read the statements and poems on the kettles hanging from the road signs at Teakettle Junction. Devoting a day to this endeavor is immensely rewarding!

And at the end, or more correctly, the middle of the journey (after all, at some point you will need to return) are the sliding rocks of The Racetrack. In the image featured here the early afternoon light rendered the playa without shadows and therefore gave the chance to give study to the detail that would normally be in deep shadow. In this case that is the back side of the sliding rock. By doing this the rut of the track can also be shown in the image and eliminated the need for graduated neutral density filters. The exposure was easy since the back of rock and the deep part of the sky were only a full stop apart and I could simply let the mountain range shadows fall where they may.

You may want to follow along with us in Death Valley. ……. The journey is available on DVD here.