What Is Little Hebe Crater And Where Is It?
Little Hebe Crater is a volcanic crater in California located in Death Valley National Park. It is located in the northern part of the park. It is a short hike from the parking area of Ubehebe Crater road near Ubehebe Crater. There are lots of volcanic craters in this area of the park. Ubehebe Crater is the most famous and the largest one but when you find the right spot and get some cool clouds in the sky, photos of Little Hebe Crater may be the best photo opportunity in this remote section of Death Valley National Park.
What Is It Like To Travel To Little Hebe Crater At Death Valley National Park?
Death Valley is a pretty remote and HUGE National Park. If you are headed to Death Valley, chances are you’ll be flying most of the way there unless you are on an extended road trip or live fairly close. If you are flying in, the Las Vegas Airport will probably be the best bet for a cheaper flight and rental car. If you want a more scenic trip then flying into the Mammoth Lakes airport may be a better bet though it will likely cost more for the flights and rental car. Both are about 200 miles from the Stovepipe Wells section of Death Valley. Once you find a hotel or campground in Death Valley, getting to Little Hebe Crater is a pretty straight forward drive. You just head up toward Scotty’s Castle and then turn on Ubehebe Road to the parking area. The road to the Racetrack is also found in this parking area. You will first come across Ubehebe Crater which is much larger and not as photogenic. Little Hebe Crater is on the trail that goes past Ubehebe Crater over a rugged volcanic landscape. It’s trail with somewhat rolling hills. It’s not a particularly difficult hike but definitely one you want to do in the cooler winter months.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of Little Hebe Crater?
When you go to Death Valley the landscape is generally hot and dry. If it’s not hot it is often quite dry. While it does rain in Death Valley it generally doesn’t rain very much. There are not often a lot of clouds in the skies over death valley. When there are clouds it can dramatically improve the landscape photos you’ll get. If the weather forecast calls for cloudy or partly cloudy skies while you are in Death Valley make sure to get out and shoot!
In order to get good photos of Little Hebe Crater, you’ll want to try to get a day with some clouds in the sky. You’ll want to do a lot of hiking in the area to find some unique compositions and determine if you want to shoot single shots or panoramic shots assuming you have the gear to shoot them. Regular single shots can capture some cool scenes around Little Hebe Crater. There are scenes that fit well into a 4×6 aspect ratio and others that lend themselves to panoramic shots.
Sunrise and sunset may be good times to go photograph this area of the park but I’s not gotten up there that early or stayed that late. It might be a little tricky hiking around in that area of the park in the dark. If you find the right composition and can get a day with clouds, you can come away with a nice balanced shot that shows the topography of the area and the colors of the volcanic ground you are walking on.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing Little Hebe Crater At Death Valley?
During the day, most any camera will do. If you are trekking all the way out to Death Valley it is worth it to get a solid DSLR camera or a mirrorless camera with at least a lens that would shoot in the 24-105mm range. A shorter range would likely work too but you’ll have to do a lot more zooming with your feet for some shots.
If you are shooting between mid morning and mid evening it is generally bright enough to shoot hand held but a tripod will help to frame up the precise shot you want. If possible you may want to take a setup for single shots and panoramic shots. There are opportunities to make good use of both in this area of Death Valley and other areas of the park. A circular polarizer can help bring some more vibrancy to photos here but not if you are stitching shots together to create a large panorama.
What Is The Story Behind This Death Valley Little Hebe Crater Wall Art Photo?
Back in the winter of 2016 I was road tripping around the west coast and California. I’d been to Death Valley before but it was in the summer of 2011. Being totally new to California at that time it didn’t dawn on my just how hot it would be. I’d gotten a new Subaru Outback prior to driving out there in 2011. By the time I got to Death Valley during the trip in 2011, the car started shaking like crazy when I was in Death Valley. The dealer sold me a car that was out of alignment. In the middle of Death Valley my tires were unevenly worn and the car was barely fit to drive. I got out of Death Valley and eventually, slowly made it to the Fresno Subaru dealer who told me the Subaru warranty didn’t cover tires even if they were sot after 12,000 miles. I had to buy new tires.
The first trip to Death Valley was hot, fast and stressful. It took me a while to get back there but I’d seen enough during the first trip to know I wanted to go back to see, experience and photograph a lot more of it.
During the 2016 trip, it was much earlier in the season. I spent a few nights camping at a variety of campground around the park, a hotel and a hostel. During the nights I spent up at the Mesquite Spring campground, I spent a number of days hiking around Ubehebe Crater area. Ubehebe was pretty cool. It is the largest crater up there but it isn’t particularly photogenic. I’d seen some photos from the area and they looked like desert photos often look. The landscape was kind of drab and the skies pretty bland and boring.
While I couldn’t get any cel signal to check the weather I could check at ranger stations. It looked like there would be some cloudy days and even some rain. Before the weather was supposed to blow in I hiked around the area and took some shots to try to find some unique compositions. When the clouds and rain were supposed to roll in I knew where I wanted to shoot.
On this particular day, there were nice light fluffy clouds in the skies. The clouds brought so much more life to an otherwise bland landscape that is usually paired with bland faded light blue skies.
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