Tamron USA State Park Series: Valley of Fire State ParkIan Plant saunters amid the sunlit sandstone and shale of Nevada's oldest and largest state park. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Ian Plant |
Ian Plant has traveled the world in his quest for beautiful nature and wildlife photography, including the Amazon rainforest, the mountains of Patagonia, and the Namibian landscape. But whenever this professional adventurer heads to Las Vegas, he makes sure to stop by Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada's oldest state park. Named for the vibrant red-sandstone rock formations that were created over the centuries by shifting sand dunes, the park is a veritable blueprint of human and natural history. |
"It's a really cool place that has the most spectacular sandstone formations I've ever seen," Ian says. "Whenever I go, I try to hit some of the must-see spots, including Elephant Arch, the famous Arch Rock (formed over the millennia by strong winds and rain), Rainbow Vista (a breathtakingly scenic viewpoint of the park that offers a panoramic photo op of the multicolored landscape), and the White Domes, cream-colored sandstone mounds that were featured in the 1966 Burt Lancaster film The Professionals." |
Because Valley of Fire is set smack in the middle of the desert, summer visits can get uncomfortably hot, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. "I prefer to go in the winter or late fall/early spring," Ian says. Valley of Fire Road is the main thoroughfare through the park, winding 10.5 miles through the most scenic features of the area. "You want to drive the highway, but definitely get out of your car along the way and do some walking in the sandstone," Ian says. "You'll get some amazing images." |
When visiting Valley of Fire, Ian recommends a wide-angle zoom or long telephoto zoom. "For full-frame cameras, I'd use the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC in the park," he says. "For crop-sensor cameras, the SP 10-24mm wide-angle is perfect. A graduated neutral-density filter also comes in handy during sunrise and sunset. If you've got some clouds in the sky, you'll want to balance the exposure of the sky and the shadowed foreground. With the ND filter, you can do a long exposure and have those clouds streak across the image frame." |
Every time he visits Valley of Fire, Ian scopes the park to express the unique characteristics of the landscape. "I look for interesting formations and shapes, as well as compelling colors," he says. "I look for the coolest, gnarliest rocks I can find. It takes a little time to explore - they don't always jump right out at you. But if you put in the effort and time, you'll find some great stuff. If I'm lucky enough, I'll position these rock formations against a good sunrise or sunset sky." |
Ian seeks out the natural shapes and lines in the Valley of Fire sandstone. "I look for interesting striations in the rock that can be used as a leading element to draw the eye deeper into the scene," he says. "Variations in color can do the same job. I'll often look for a section of sandstone where I can get a juxtaposition of warm and cool colors, like a strong demarcation between reddish-brown sandstone and bluish-white sandstone. That kind of complementary color mix is very effective." |
The colors of the sandstone are, in fact, a main draw at the park. "You get gorgeous blues, oranges, reds, pinks - it's fantastic," Ian says. "Sunrise and sunset both work especially well when you're photographing most features in the park. If you've got a sky that's going off like wild at sunset and the clouds are lighting up pink, some of that light will reflect down on the landscape and make everything pop out in a really colorful way." |
Most people head home after the sunsets, but you can get stunning nighttime images at Valley of Fire. Ian photographed Elephant Arch after hours, capturing the stars and sandstone in all their glory. "I took these shots in a couple of different ways," he says. "To get the image of the arch with the stars looking like pinpoints, I used the widest aperture and a high ISO (around 3200). I exposed the image for 30 seconds. The stars will move a little bit during a 30-second exposure, but it won't be that apparent." |
To blur the stars for a slightly different effect, Ian used a longer exposure. "For that image, the exposure was about one hour long, with the camera firmly on a tripod," he says. "As the exposure was running, the Earth was turning on its axis, so the stars appear to streak in the sky. If you're pointed at the North Star, you'll get concentric circles to form, because the North Star is aligned with the Earth's axis." |
Even at night, the natural beauty of the sandstone shines through in Valley of Fire. "I always try to keep faithful to the scene," Ian says. "I shined a flashlight on some red sandstone and basically used it as a big reflector. It was reflecting this red, tinted light back onto what was red sandstone to begin with, so it really brought out that color during the exposure. I didn't have to go and mess with the colors in post-processing. I'll use post to optimize my RAW files and to bring out the magic I may have seen with my eyes, but I try to bring out that magic in the real world with real light." |
Ian hopes to eventually take an extended trip to Valley of Fire. "I've done a bunch of short trips - I've always wanted to do a real long trip there, like for two or three weeks," he says. "I want to go there, explore, and really try to give the place photographic justice." |
To see more of Ian Plant's images, go to www.ianplant.com. Check out the Tamron USA website for more information on Tamron's State Park Series. |