Expectations

December 8, 2024  |  Death Valley National Park
A storm passing through Death Valley lights up the clouds and leaves dappled light on the hillsides creating a dramatic black...

A storm passing through Death Valley lights up the clouds and leaves dappled light on the hillsides creating a dramatic black and white image.

I have to admit, my expectations are getting the best of me. We've been in Death Valley for three weeks and have only created a handful of images. Primarily, this is due to leading workshops and having a lot of work to get done running our business, but it also comes down to expectations. Last season in Death Valley was phenomenal; we had so many unique conditions to work with, no workshops to manage - it was magical. This year, there are no unique conditions, and we're a bit burnt out from the incredibly busy fall of travel, workshops, aurora chasing, and so on. I'm finding it hard to muster up the motivation to go out and photograph when there isn't Lake Manly or ephemeral mud calling my name.

This needs to change. I have a list of photographs I want to create that are not based on these ephemeral conditions, just interesting subjects I've noticed over the years that I need to come back to in better light. It's a reminder to not be so reliant on amazing conditions. After our Black and White workshop next week, I will be getting back to my roots.

This image I had never released, from a storm back in 2023. I was pleased to get my 2024 images released recently, but I still have a backlog from the past 5 years prior to that. I still have a long way to go.