Ubehebe Crater and Dramatic Skies

 

Rain clouds begin to form over Tin Mountain on the left, followed by Ubehebe Crater in the distant left foreground, Dry Mountain in the middle background, the Last Chance Range extending right.
Leica M10, 50mm Apo-Summicron, 9 image panorama

The drive out from the Racetrack wasn't as long as the way in, knowing what lied ahead of me. Still, it's not a quick journey in the ol' rattlecan. I had spent all morning shooting and took my time, stopping along the way at any sights that caught my eye. The plan was to get to Ubehebe Crater and have lunch, then veer off on another dirt road that was supposed to be equally as bad as Racetrack, heading towards the Eureka Dunes. It was a full day, but I figured I would still be at the dunes early enough to shoot the late afternoon sun from the sand. It kind of worked out that way.

One of the little companion craters off the edge of Ubehebe
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

Little Ubehebe, from the trail around the rim
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

The skies continued to get more and more dramatic as the day went on
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

Crankshaft Junction, about to cross the Last Chance Range
 iPhone

The sky slowly thickened with cumulous clouds as the day unfolded. Ubehebe was beautiful, even wind-whipped under the flat midday sun. While it's not a complaint, our sky on the coast is more often than not: sunny or foggy. Take your choice. When there are storms are often when I get most excited to shoot, so just having something interesting going on in the sky makes for a better photo. This day largely ended up just being about the sky for me. 

I found the road better than expected and made good time; tunes on the stereo, left elbow hanging out the window, and smiling at the grandeur of it all. 

Eureka Valley, with clouds over the Saline Range
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

Not long after I turned off the main road, heading towards Eureka Dunes, they came into view off in the distance, spotlighted by a patch of sun. When I do road trips like this, I often keep a camera or two in the passenger seat to grab quick shots of sights like this, and I'm glad I stopped for it. After a couple quick frames, I drove to a better vantage point, hiked up the slope and waited for the sun to come back. It never did. 

The last sun the Eureka Dunes saw this day
Canon 6D, 100-400 @ 200mm

Still in shorts and a light windbreaker, I started to freeze my ass off and gave up. Back on the road to find a spot to park. As the dunes became larger in my field of view, my optimism shrank. Still, it was gorgeous, and I was happy to just be there. I didn't completely lose hope for some sunset drama until the very end. Again, maybe not award winning photos here, but witnessing these types of days and just being present this kind of natural beauty is what I'm there for.

Not a bad camp for the night, even if the weather was less than ideal
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

I'm tellin' you. I was ALL about the sky that day
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 35mm

Nothin' but sky, looking west
Hasselblad X1DII, 35-75 @ 75mm
Below is a timelapse from my phone on the dash. I make a brief appearance to get the 2nd photo above