The Alabama Hills are one of my favorite places here in California and a usual stop anytime I head to the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Normally I avoid the area during summer as the temperature is often well above my level of tolerance, But I decided to check things out anyhow. On the way up as I was crossing the Antelope Valley before entering the high desert area, I knew I would be in trouble from the heat. I guess after too much time in Northern Europe, I had forgotten that I really don’t enjoy myself in 100˚ (37˚c) temperatures (yes, I’m spoiled living on the coast). Turning off in Lone Pine during the late afternoon I headed straight through the Alabama hills and up to the 8,000 (2500m) foot coolness of the Whitney Portal to get a bit of an escape from the heat. The light was pretty bad anyhow, so I sat around up there and got eaten by mosquitoes for an hour or two.
I have a couple favorite places to camp, but since there is so much to see, I usually do a little exploring to see if I can’t find some cool new place. The whole area is open for wild camping, so I like to look for a spot where I can roll out the back of my truck at dawn, walk about 10 feet or crawl up some rock and start shooting. Sure beats having to drive anywhere!
![Alabama HIlls, Owen's valley, California Alabama HIlls, Owen's valley, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills.jpg)
![Panoramic landscape stock photography: Alabama Hills, Owen's valley, California Panoramic landscape stock photography: Alabama Hills, Owen's valley, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills2.jpg)
![Night panoramic landscape photography Nikon d700 85mm tilt-shift lens: Sierra Nevada Mountains, California Night panoramic landscape photography Nikon d700 85mm tilt-shift lens: Sierra Nevada Mountains, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/sierra-nevada-mountains-night.jpg)
The sunset was actually one of the boring-er ones that I’ve witnessed, but what can you do. Took a few night photos, but a pretty good wind picked up around sundown which was blowing a lot of dust around. So after a five minute photo, I’d have to clean everything off again.
![NIght photography Nikon d700: star trails over rock formations, Alabama Hills, California NIght photography Nikon d700: star trails over rock formations, Alabama Hills, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills-night.jpg)
Dawn broke to a perfectly clear sky, again, nothing spectacular. Better weather for climbing than photography.
![Tilt-Shift panoramic landscape photography: Sierra Nevada mountains, California Tilt-Shift panoramic landscape photography: Sierra Nevada mountains, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills-sierra-nevada-mountains.jpg)
Lone Pine peak in the center of the photo, with Mount Whitney (14,505 feet – 4,421m, highest mountain in California and lower 48) on the very right of the photo in the pre-dawn light.
![Landscape stock photography: Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills, Owen's Valley, California Landscape stock photography: Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills, Owen's Valley, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills-mobius-arch.jpg)
Mobius Arch, one of the more famous icons in the area.
![Alabama Hills and Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lone Pine, California Alabama Hills and Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lone Pine, California](http://codyduncan.com/blogimages/2009/07/alabama-hills3.jpg)
By 7:00 am it was already getting hot and the light hazy and washed out. So I decided to some place higher and cooler for the day…