[Leica] (LONG!) Trip Report: Lone Pine, Death Valley, Mono Lake Shoot

[Myers Pete <MyersPete@aol.com>]

Trip Report: Lone Pine, Death Valley Mono Shoot

Dear LUGnuts:

I thought I would report in on my 01 April trip to the back side of the=
=0ASierra. This shoot was a continuation of my work as a fine arts photog=
rapher -=0Awhich is my sole profession. But, its always an extreme joy to=
 get out and=0Ashoot in that most of the work day to day is doing the mun=
dane tasks of=0Aadvertising, promotion, making prints and lab work - but =
not shooting. So,=0Aanytime I am in the field doing the fun part it is as=
 much a 'vacation' time=0Afor me as it is work.

The weapon of choice was the R8 with motor winder, my new (and hard earne=
d)=0AR35mm f2 ROM and Gitzo carbon fiber mono pod, #8 yellow, Delta 400+ =
for PMK=0APyro, Jeep Cherokee and beautiful wife.

My wife, Kathy and I left the morning of 01 April in the Jeep from the Ba=
y=0AArea. The weather pulled an April Fool's on us and we were greeted by=
 the news=0Aof it SNOWING in Southern California. To say that this is a r=
are event is an=0Aunderstatement - more so that it was in April.

We bore down I-5 and re-fueled our stomachs at Harris Ranch outside of=0A=
Collinga - an event never to be missed as this is the source for some of =
the=0Abest steak in the West. Harris Ranch also has a nice Hacienda type =
hotel,=0Awhich we have stayed at before. The normal Cafe part of the faci=
lity has great=0Asteaks and food, but the dinning area is to die for. Jus=
t go down and stay=0Aover night and EAT the whole evening! (Then exercise=
 for a week :)

We hit Tehachapi Pass in the snow - but no chains were required. We made =
a=0Ahard left at Mojave and headed for Lone Pine. The new wing of the Bes=
t Western=0Athere (airport side) is wonderful and served as our base camp=
 for three=0Anights. 

For those of you in other parts of the world, Lone Pine is at 4000ft and =
Mt.=0AWhitney and the Sierra rises from the valley floor to 14, 494 ft. i=
n just a=0Afew miles. Its about like looking up at the summit of Everest =
from Base Camp=0Ain terms of the rise.

Lone Pine was and is also the Western "back lot' for Hollywood. Many famo=
us=0AWesterns have been shot in the huge granite boulders in Lone Pine. T=
hese are=0AMONSTER sized boulders ( the size of a house) and come in all =
different=0Ashapes.

The motel that is now the Best Western use to house the cast and crew of =
a=0Agreat many of these Western Movies, so its fun to be there and enjoy =
recalling=0Athe films. We stayed in the Kirk Douglas room, which was a bi=
t sad in his=0Arecent passing.

One of my all time favorite films was shot there: "Bad Day at Black Rock"=
,=0Astaring Spencer Tracy (1954, John Sturges, director). Rent it. It has=
 not=0Areally changed that much in the area.

02 April, I was at the base of Lone Pine Peak at 6AM. The snow had powder=
ed=0Aall the way down to Lone Pine and it was as dramatic as I have seen =
it. I shot=0Alike a mad man for two and a half hours, went back to the mo=
tel and picked up=0AKathy and returned to show her the rocks in the snow =
- - but it was all gone! In=0Ajust a few hours - from 6am till 9am - the sn=
ow evaporated! Not melted.=0AEvaporated. A rare event.

I have been shooting the R28mm f2.8 ROM for some time now and it was quit=
e a=0Ashock to be using a 35mm focal length. Its the classic problem: wit=
h the 35mm,=0Athe background is perfect, but you cant get all the foregro=
und events in, but=0Awith the 28mm, the foreground fits and the backgroun=
d becomes to distant.=0AThere is not perfect solution. All I brought was =
the 35mm on purpose and I=0Astill had a blast with it - cant wait to see =
the images from it! This was its=0Amaiden voyage.

That afternoon, we shot down to Ridgecrest to see a horse breeder about a=
=0Ahorse for Kathy. Kathy rides endurance (50 miles+ in a day) and she ne=
eds a=0Anew and proven horse. There is a breeder and trainer out there on=
 the desert=0Athat specializes in endurance horses. We feel in love with =
a 14.3 blue/gray=0AArab that is six years old and has already completed t=
he Death Valley ride=0A(200 miles in four days, I believe). I am afraid t=
his horse is as sweet as any=0AI have known (like a giant dog!) and we ma=
y have to bring him home sometime=0Asoon.

Later, we went to the Trona Pinnacles. While I enjoyed seeing them, I jus=
t did=0Anot feel inspired to make images there. Perhaps a different day a=
nd different=0Alight.

03 April we shot out towards Death Valley. Just over the ridge from Owens=
 Lake=0Ais Coso Valley. Its at 5000 ft and was under cloud and blowing sn=
ow as verga=0Aoff in the distance. The mountain peaks had a shaft of ligh=
t on them and=0Acomplex snowy verga in front. I saw a huge Joshua Tree ou=
t a half mile of more=0Afrom the Highway. I had Kathy pull over and we ra=
n for the tree flat out. When=0AI got there, a shaft of light hit the Jos=
hua tree, while the background stayed=0Adark with the far mountains in th=
e complex light with the snow verga. It could=0Anot have been more beauti=
ful. 

And to the Leica report, this is the moment that the R8 was at its best. =
The=0Alight was very complex and changed a hundred times while I was ther=
e. Matrix=0Ametering and a bit of bracketing were all that I had time for=
. The Winder was=0Aa joy. I shot a half a roll in two minutes and complet=
ely forgot about the=0Acamera and only worked on composition.

We then continued to Death Valley. We were greeted by a sea of yellow flo=
wers=0Aspanning the entire valley floor. I have been to Death Valley a nu=
mber of=0Atimes and have never seen wild flowers in such abundance. The l=
ocals say that=0Ait has not looked like this in 40+ years (its due to our=
 heavy rains this=0Ayear).

Also, it was raining! I have now been to Death Valley twice and watched i=
t=0Arain.

After buying dates at Furnace Creek (some of the most tasty dates in the =
whole=0Aworld and a tradition for Kathy and I), we headed up Day Light Pa=
ss and turned=0Aright out into four wheel drive territory. We were headin=
g for Chloride City -=0Aa ghost mine that hangs high above Death Valley. =
The GPS said it was about 5.5=0Amiles back as the crow fly's from the Hig=
hway. But, it was a 'goat trail' at=0Abest - not a road. The first mile o=
r so was just fine and then it starts to=0Aget bad. The rain and snow did=
 not help. We had to rock crawl the Jeep. It=0Agave us a few white knuckl=
e scares, but Kathy drove masterfully.

Chloride was under the weather, but has genuine ghost mine features. Ther=
e is=0Aa dead guy buried right next to the mine. The mining shacks still =
remain with=0Aartifacts in them. I had to tripod shoot there (yuk!), but =
the diffuse light=0Ahelped fill up the interiors. But, I was having six s=
econd exposures. Again,=0Athe R8 is a joy for such shots.

The weather started to get serious with the late afternoon disintegration=
 of=0Athe cumulus clouds, so we got the heck out of there. We took the ba=
ck way out,=0Aavoiding the nasty road. The back way takes you straight ou=
t to Nevada across=0Aa vast plane. The road was good, but it took hours t=
o get out. Once out, we=0Awent to Beatty, Nevada to refuel. Its typical N=
evada. The people look pretty=0Adried up and are "so friendly" to outside=
rs. There is a reason for their=0Aattitude that is born out of legitimate=
 experience, but we will save that for=0Aanother time.

We drove back to Death Valley and stopped off at Rhyolite to have a picni=
c of=0Adates, chocolate, almond butter and fresh jelly on crackers. It wa=
s fun to be=0Aat Rhyolite for a picnic, but it is such a 'ghost town' cli=
ch=E9 that shooting=0Athere was out of the question. 

04 April, we drove up from Lone Pine to Mono Lake - our home away from ho=
me.=0AThe drive up was beautiful following the spine of the Sierra. But, =
it was=0ASaturday and all the )$&)()$* skiers were driving like idiots to=
 get up to=0AMammoth. We saw a lot of near head-ons. We cheered when the =
Highway Patrol=0Apulled over one of the worst idiots in his brand new BMW=