Photo: "Hey There Manly Beacon!"

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After setting up my tripod at the top of the hill with the rest of my group, I decided I wasn't happy with my perspective. Since I shot sunrise from that same spot during the last trip, with a nice sky, I decided I wanted a new angle.

I began the decent into the canyon half an hour before sunrise, stopping along the way to take shots from various angles and not realizing that I had walked so far until the Manly Beacon was directly to my right. I suddenly realized the walk back to the car would be much farther than I had anticipated. 

Photo: "Mesquite Waves"

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On this particular morning, we made the trek out to the dunes, despite the lack of clouds. For some reason, though I shot here during my last trip in 2010, I forgot how long the hike to the untouched dunes actually took. (Most are covered in footprints.) After walking for around 30 minutes, I decided to stop and take a shot here I blue hour was over. Shortly after I finished the final shot, the sun was up and lighting the dunes with an amber glow. 

Photo: "Another Day in Solitude"

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One this particular day, we had shot a cloudless sunrise at Zabriskie Point and feared we'd have the same cloudless skies for sunset out at The Racetrack, but we decided to go anyway. Thankfully, the evening turned out better than expected. 

By sunset, we were the only people on the playa and though it was chilly, there was virtually no wind. A few small clouds moved in over the mountains as the sun went down and lit up in hues of pink and lavender. Taking our chances definitely paid off.