Zabriskie Point is named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie who was a vice president and general manger of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 1900s. That’s enough history for today. If you have a yearning to find out why the point was named after him, you can google it. Now, to see what you all came for, some photos.

Just before sunset the rocks lit up a bit. Zabriskie is cool-looking no matter the time of day.

Just before sunset the rocks lit up a bit. Zabriskie is cool-looking no matter the time of day.

We heard that Zabriskie Point is one of the photographic highlights in Death Valley. With this in mind, we decided to do both a sunset shoot followed by a sunrise shoot the next morning. Why do both, you ask? The light is different on the rock formations, of course. Since its all about the light and it being a top attraction, we felt it was worth the time. It turned out it was. But, it didn’t start that way.

We arrived well before sunset to scope out the area, picking the best place for the sunset shoot. It turned out to be the “iconic” shot of Manly Beacon (the point on the left in the picture below) with all sorts of rock swirls and textures at its base. I got what I thought was a decent shot but less than the spectacular shot I was hoping for:

You can see the pleasing sky color of yellow and orange. Unfortunately it did not translate to the rocks.

You can see the pleasing sky color of yellow and orange. Unfortunately, it did not translate to the rocks. I think the image is a bit drab. What do you think?

We were a bit disappointed with Zabriskie Point. Yes, it was beautiful, but we couldn’t get a great photograph. With the sun nearly set our fortunes were about to turn as Kas found the golden swirls of rocks on the other side were starting to light up from the setting sun. Smart girl – she never stays put.

The sky was fantastic with its alpenglow. And the rocks changed into a spectacular golden color.

The sky was fantastic with its alpenglow. And the rocks changed into a spectacular golden color.

The next morning’s pre-sunrise (aka, the blue hour) produced some spectacular alpenglow on the horizon, making the scene from the night before look spectacular.

Now, this is what I wanted: tremendous sky with beautiful rocks.

Now, this is what I wanted: tremendous sky with beautiful rocks.

When the sun finally started to rise (now in the golden hour), the mountains in the distance turned a nice orange-red color.

The mountains in the distance were great but the swirls in front were in shade.

The mountains in the distance were great but the swirls in front were in shade.

It started off a bit slow the night before but ended up quite satisfying by the end of the sunrise. All done with our trip to Mammoth Lakes and Death Valley, it was time to head home and play with our photos. We hope you enjoyed the trip as much as us, though I am certain you got a lot more sleep then us!

Remember, it’s all about the light!