Yes, it's the same place, but it's a different day!

"Returning to the same locations has always paid dividends for me," says professional landscape photographer and workshop leader Steve Kossack. "At this well-known spot, high over Death Valley at Aguereberry Point, I’ve been rewarded in the heat of summer and the cool of winter. Spring brings wildflowers to the valley floor in some years and the fall signals the end of the severe heat and more manageable photography temperatures. I'm always eager to revisit the wide open vistas of these ridges in all seasons -- anytime I can get there.

"In these three Aguereberry Point images," says Steve, "we see how the the passing weather sets the stage for a beautiful and distinct image any time you're there.

"This first image is the result of fortunate timing and the use of a device called a lightning trigger. While watching an approaching storm, my excited anticipation of being able to capture a lightning bolt in daylight suddenly became a reality. The trigger prompted me to frame the composition at a very wide angle because the sensor scans a wide area of the sky. This wide-angle view provided enough space for the lightning bolt to fill the entire left half of the frame, a big benefit I did not anticipate at the time! The trigger also calls for a slower shutter speed than I would normally use, so I chose to use only my LB Color Intensifier and retain as much depth of field (smaller aperture) as possible. Using the Color Intensifier provided the added benefit of heightened earth tones while maintaining that necessary shutter speed. I especially like this filter's small filter factor -- it's only about 1/3 to 1/2 of an f-stop."

"This 'Moonrise at Sunset' image is the tighter composition I would have liked for the lightning bolt shot, but as you can see, it would have not worked! Here the focal point is the moonrise and the composition was narrowed and lowered. The stage was set and the curtain rose! The LB ColorCombo was chosen this time to heighten the contrast and deepen the color. My favorite moon exposure filter is the Singh-Ray 5-stop, soft-step ND Grad. I find the filter perfect for this situation and, in my workflow, easier and more predictable than stacking filters. The detail retained in this moon is the proof!

"This third 'Sunset Storm' image was my reward for knowing the “when and where” of this same location. Arriving on the heels of a quickly passing storm, I had no time to get where I wanted for the set up. Instead I settled for a perch above and quickly rethought the composition. Since the color was the focal point I needed only to adjust the angle and isolate the scene. The solution was a longer lens and the use of the Singh-Ray LB Color Intensifier and 2 stop, soft-step ND Grad to “snap the clouds” from the quickly fading light."

This location is always part of Steve's Death Valley 5-day workshop. The entire lightning-shot sequence, by the way, can be seen in Steve's new Death Valley DVD.