At first you don't even notice that afternoon is passing in to evening, and the light is getting softer.

The dunes are still a relatively light golden color before they start to assume warmer tones as evening comes closer.

The lengthening shadows of the sinking sun emphasize the texture of the vegetation on the floor, as well as the corrugations of the mountains behind.

A dried out tree limb provides a contextual frame for a distant dune.

But behind the tree only a few creosote bushes alleviate the sandy expanses.

Zooming in, we can see a lone figure hiking in the dunes.

Mounting the "Big Bertha" tele-lens on the camera, we can see there is a small group out there.

Temperature contrasts - while we're here on a desert floor that reaches scorching temperatures over day, the snow on the mountains is not too far behind.

The lengthening shadows of the creosote bushes and a deeper yellow glow remind us that the sun is sinking.

Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Purple.

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Footsteps in the sand - as Rembrandt might have painted it.

As the sun winks out over the mountains behind, so only the tops of the mountains in front of us are still receiving direct light - which is turning to crimson as a direct counterpoint to dawn's Alpenglow.

A little later, a long exposure by moonlight colors the rocks in an eerie light.

By night too Death Valley has colors, but it takes a camera to capture them for the human eye.