Landscape Photography on Location |Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes | Death Valley National Park

In this video we will review some of my images from the Mesquite Flats sand dunes in Death Valley National Park. I will review where I went to get the images, as well as a few tips on how to approach your trip to the dunes.

[@Thekennel177]

An amazing place!

[@_bcphotos]

This is so incredibly helpful, thank you!

[@MrNegative]

So glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@brianbeattyphotography]

Nice! That image of the sand swept dunes at 10:15 is spectacular

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! I can never get enough of death valleys dunes but this was the first time I had winds like that. A pretty special experience for sure.

[@atandon6003]

Love this video. Will use your tips when I visit mesquite next time 🙏

[@MrNegative]

I’m so glad it was helpful!

[@juanbusciglio1771]

Great work, I really enjoyed your video. It gave me the little push that I needed to get back on creating landscape images. and return to make more video content. Thank you! you got my subscription 👍🏻

[@MrNegative]

Thanks so much, that means a lot! I appreciate your comment and taking the time to watch!

[@shupingyin8082]

This is great vid

[@MrNegative]

Thank you!

[@Johno530]

KZbin pointed me towards your channel. I watched your whole video and right around the 13 min mark, i believe you are following me and my wifes foot prints. I'm also a photographer and was there in DV the same date. Anyway, I subscribed and look forward to more content!

[@MrNegative]

Wow, what a small world! I appreciate you taking time to watch the video and for subscribing. Hopefully your gear didn't get full of as much sand as mine did!

[@Speedster2707]

Great video. I'm heading out there next week and doing some research for the trip. Your video was very informative. My biggest takeaway was the use of the telephoto to compress the image. I probably would have pulled out my 16-35. Amazing photos. Thanks!

[@MrNegative]

So glad it was helpful! I’m jealous youre heading out there. I’d definitely bring the 16-35 but am glad you’re considering the telephoto as well. Just be careful if you change lenses. Pretty sure I’ve still got some of Death Valley on my sensor :)

[@Speedster2707]

@@MrNegative Also going to do, The Racetrack for sunset and Milky Way shots. Have you posted any video on this area?

[@MrNegative]

I have not. I went to racetrack a few years back but that was long before I started making videos. I’d love another shot at that location though so maybe a future video. Good luck, it’s an amazing spot for Astro!

[@zxrlandscapes6600]

awesome video i just subscribed

[@MrNegative]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[@derrickkelly4745]

Nice work. I'll subscribe. You explained your thought processes really well and you came away with some awesome images. I would caution against giving away locations on social media because so many people are careless with nature but I also get that discussing them in this video was really important to your thought processes and really clarified for me what you were trying to achieve. As a landscape photographer I'm like, "Awesome, I now know where to go to get some great dune pictures" but then I think about all the people and their footprints and the trash they leave and plants they trample and so on and so forth. I guess the Mesquite dunes are one of the most popular places to visit and many people would take similar paths to you. When I was there, I took the circuitous route around the dunes. I was the only one who did that. Everyone else made a beeline to the tallest dune!

[@MrNegative]

Thank you for the comment and for subscribing. I agree sharing locations can be a fine line between helping other photographers and risking damage to the landscape. The route I show on the video is certainly not a secret, just something you might not know the first time you visit. Definitely something I will keep in mind though for future videos.

[@davidletz9123]

Super images! Did you have any problems keeping your tripod firmly in the sand (assuming you used one)?

[@MrNegative]

Thank you! No issues. I fortunately had spiked feet so I would just jam the legs pretty deep into the sand and then use the leveling base to correct level. Cleaning the tripod took a bit of time though :)

[@davidletz9123]

@@MrNegative As a hobbyist I'd like to know if you used color grading/calibration on any of the images. The color is quite amazing.

[@MrNegative]

@@davidletz9123 I didn't need to do too much to the color. I did warm the highlights a bit and for a couple of the images (especially those with the peaks in the background) needed to warm the image overall. The sand at death valley does have a nice golden brown color so when the light is low on the horizon, it really looks amazing.

[@shupingyin8082]

Did you use a tripod for those telephoto images

[@MrNegative]

I did. I almost never shoot without a tripod.