This issue has the details you'll need to plan your photo trip to Death Valley: when is the best time of year; when is the best time of day to be out there on the dunes near Stove Pipe Wells and the remote Eureka Dunes. Tips on sunrise at Badwater and Zabriskie Point and sunset from Dante’s View and on visiting Titus, Mosaic, and Grotto Canyons.
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Because Death Valley receives an average of under two inches of rainfall each year, great desert wildflower shows are very rare. Death Valley, however, has many other things to photograph besides wildflowers. Number one on my list has always been the sand dunes. They are located center on the map of Death Valley National monument, and extend three miles from east to west and are a half mile wide.

​The highest dunes are a hundred feet above the surface of the valley, which is just below sea level. You can drive to within 200 feet of the dunes on Highway 190, and park on the well-packed edge of the road and walk out into the dunes. Morning light is best because the sun rises over a range of mountains far to the southeast. In the afternoon, the sun drops behind the higher and much closer range of the Cottonwood Mountains in the west and the dunes are in shadow for at least an hour before there is any sunset color in the sky.

Crowley Lake is about 10 miles south of Mammoth Lakes and about 25 miles north of  the town of Bishop, California. Highway 395 follows the west side of the lake. From several viewpoints along the highway, you can see white cliffs in the distance on the east side of the lake. Avoid this hike after a wet winter when the white columns are under water. The lake can raise to the tops of the columns. The easiest access is at the junction called Tom’s Place, on #395. Follow Owens Gorge Road north to the lake where the road crosses the top of Long Valley Dam. Follow signs to a wide parking place at the trailhead to the white columns. Unless you have a 4x4 with lots of ground clearance, park at the lot at the foot of a steep and rough road. After a 2-mile hike you’ll come to a trail that leads down to the edge of the lake. You can avoid the hike if you have a kayak or boat. A boat ramp with rental boats and a bait shop is located on #395 on the west side of the Lake. You can get info about the columns there or call the Lake Crowley Bait Shop at: 760-935-4301

You will find more information on Great photo locations on Highway 395 in Issue #163 of Photograph America Newsletter.

Pack up your camera gear, leave the busy city streets of New York, cross over the Hudson, and head north to explore remote trails leading to landscapes that rival any in America. I traveled to New York City for a long exploration of the Hudson River, up the eastern edge of New York State. I found many fascinating places to set up my tripod during that trip. I made many stops to photograph the river while driving the narrow river road named 9J on maps of the east side of the river. Near Castleton-on-Hudson, I made a quick U-turn when I spotted a unique and abstract pattern of bridge supports beneath Interstate 90.

You will find more information on the Hudson in Issue #064 of Photograph America Newsletter. 

North of Lake Louise, on your way to Jasper National Park, watch for the sign pointing out the road up to the Peyto Lake Overlook at Bow Summit. After a short, but fairly strenuous walk up from the parking lot, you will be standing a thousand feet above a glacier-fed, blue-green lake. The panoramic view is breathtaking. Off in the distance, to the right, is the Mistaya Valley. This location is perfect for a panoramic camera. A very wide-angle lens, in the 17-20mm range, will frame the lake. Some of the most spectacular alpine scenery in North America is found along the route between Peyto Lake and the Columbia Ice Fields. Although you can easily drive from Lake Louise to Jasper in three hours, allow at least one whole day for the 144- mile trip. All along the Ice Fields Parkway, you will be able to photograph reflections of glacier-capped peaks reflecting in icy blue lakes and wild waterfalls cascading down thousand-foot cliffs. You will probably see mountain goats, elk, bears, and moose from the highway.

You will find more information on the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia in Issue #30 of Photograph America Newsletter.

After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge continue driving north on US Highway 101 for 3 to 5 miles while watching for the exit onto Highway 1, the road to Muir Woods and Stinson Beach. Follow that road for a couple of miles around the south end of the Bay. Watch for a sign with an arrow pointing to the road to Tennessee Cove. Follow that road to the parking lot at the end of the pavement. The trail to the beach is at the west end of the parking lot. It’s about a mile to the beach. When I lived in Mill Valley, it was my favorite beach walk. Back in the ’70s, my wife, Katherine and I walked out there to find thousands of rolls of paper towels, plastic wrapped, covering the sand. Out in the surf, a bright red shipping container, with its doors wide open was spilling its contents. When we hiked out, our arms were loaded with treasures from the sea.

You will find more information on California’s Central Coast in Issue #117 of Photograph America Newsletter.

Many panels of petroglyphs are on the vertical sandstone canyon walls along the Potash/Moab Road in Southeastern Utah, the road to Canyonlands National Park. Most are up above the present road level, safe from vandals. The first panels can be spotted five miles west of Highway 191. Watch for a sign pointing out “Indian Writing.” This long panel has hundreds of human and animal forms, geometric patterns, and hunting scenes including warriors with shields and spears. A 300mm telephoto lens (with a polarizer) will frame the images tightly from across the road. The next panel, about 200 yards farther west on Potash Road is also marked with an “Indian Writing” sign. You’ll have to walk back about fifty feet east of the sign to spot the very large bear, the hunters, and the bighorns in a beautiful hunting scene high above the pavement.

You will find more information on Canyonlands National Park in Issue #35 of Photograph America Newsletter.

Restaurants offer red or green chili sauce on their New Mexican specialties. Red chilis have been allowed to ripen; green chilis have not. They are picked green and are usually hotter. There are many varieties used in New Mexican food. Sometimes one type of green chili is milder than a different variety of red chili. Be sure to ask. You will often see Posole on a menu. It is a stew of hominy, pork, and green chili. The long strings of dried, red chilis hanging in shops, restaurants, and roadside stands are called ristras. They mildew quickly in more humid climates and don’t travel well. They are very symbolic of the area and make colorful photographs. 

You will find more information on Santa Fe and Taos in Issue #025 of Photograph America Newsletter.

​The annual Santa Fe Indian Market is the largest all-Native American market in the country. A thousand artisans display and sell their baskets, blankets, jewelry, carvings, pottery, and rugs. Traditional tribal dances are held in the Santa Fe Plaza. Entry is free. Hotels in town are booked up months in advance. After New York and Los Angeles, Santa Fe has more art galleries than any other city in the U.S.

You will find more information on Santa Fe and Taos in Issue #025 of Photograph America Newsletter.

The windows of Bodie are a special subject all by themselves. Most were broken at one time but have been repaired and patched back together with silicone caulk. The seams give the appearance of leaded glass windows. The old wavy glass reflects the cloud-filled sky in unusual ways. Remove your polarizing filter, and try shooting from a low angle to capture the image of windows filled with reflections of the sky. To photograph the interiors of Bodie’s buildings, several techniques work well. A polarizing filter will eliminate most or all of the reflections on a window. If you want to photograph an interior but can’t get inside, move up as close as possible to the window. A rubber lens shade pushed up against the glass cuts out any reflections in this photograph of a kitchen on the main Street where George Washington covers some of the rotting remains of old wallpaper. Dark clothing helped to reduce reflections. Carry a rag or a pocket full of wet-wipes to clean a spot on a dusty window.

You will find more information on Bodie in Issue #19 of Photograph America Newsletter.

After your first hike along the edge of the The Palouse wheat fields you’ll look down to find that your socks are filled with “foxtails”– those scratchy and annoying wild oats and other grasses that work their way through your socks and fabric-covered running shoes. For this trip, I pack my all-leather boots and a pair of waterproof gaiters in my car. Consider packing high-top leather boots in your luggage. The foxtails are especially dangerous for dogs. Leave your dog home.

You will find more information on The Palouse in Issue #54 of Photograph America Newsletter.