(Note: Due to technical issues, the original version of the text that accompanied this photograph has been lost. What appears below is a new description written in 2026.)
The subject of this photograph is, of course, the iconic Death Valley view from Zabriskie Point. The traditional experience is to arrive here well before dawn in order to be ready for the light show that may come before, during, and after sunrise. The first direct light appears on the summit of the distant Panamint Mountains (at Telescope Peak) and then works its way down the face of the range. It slowly crosses the Valley and eventually lights the badlands formations below the camera position. The special feature on this morning was the broken deck of clouds that directed beams of morning light on isolated bits of the landscape.
My first visit to Death Valley was in the late 1990s. As a lifelong California outdoorsman, I had somehow managed to miss this remarkable landscape, but I quickly began to make up for lost time. Since then I have visited and photographed in the park annually. Over time, my subjects have evolved. Early on I was just getting acquainted with the park, and iconic scenes like this attracted me. But as I explored more and more of the park, I became much more interested in other features, some of them remote and less well known. (Today I rarely photograph at Zabriskie Point, only going there if the conditions show promise of being uniquely remarkable.)
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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
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