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. 

Photo: "Swaying Sun"

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I got back to San Francisco this morning after a weekend in San Diego visiting family for the holiday. 

I drove most of the way last night, camped out in the Subaru and finished the drive this morning. The first hour of the drive was a bit boring, but I happily arrived in Santa Nella, one of the few decent stops along the I-5, during blue hour, so I picked out a spot along a farm road and shot the sunrise in the cold crisp air for an hour. It certainly helped to break up the early morning drive.