Try to include something like cactus or wildflowers to give a sense of scale and proportion to these tightly-cropped telephoto compositions. Photographs of tightly cropped rock patterns may be interesting exercises for the photographer but may not have any meaning to other viewers. Wind blowing down the Owens Valley can be very strong and gusty in the spring. To stabilize your tripod, spread your tripod legs, hang your camera bag from a hook screwed into the bottom end of your tripod's center column, or find a spot behind large rocks that's protected from the force of the wind. There are cholla, beavertail, cottontop, and prickly pear cactus growing in the sandy hills between the outcroppings.
Spring brings wildflowers including bright red patches of Indian paintbrush.
Cottonwoods growing along Tuttle Creek turn bright yellow in late October. In addition to your favorite color film, try some black and white and pack a few rolls of infrared film for your Alabama Hills trip. Don't forget the red filter for the infrared film. For guidebooks, maps, and more information about finding your way around the maze of dirt roads through the Alabama Hills, stop at the Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center. It's located about 2 miles south of Lone Pine on Highway 395 at the intersection of Highway 136, the road to Death Valley.