Evening Light, Desert Hills. Death Valley National Park, California. April 5, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Evening light on desert hills, Death Valley National Park
I have had my eye on this general area of Death Valley for some time, revisiting regularly to try to get a better feel for its character and photographic possibilities. It lies along a route between other more iconic subjects, but because I identify so strongly with the sense of immense space, the atmospheric haze, and the quiet of “empty” spaces in this landscape, the non-iconic nature actually appeals to me. A few years ago when I started to look more carefully at this area I was attracted to its upper portion, where it comes up against some rugged mountains. But as I traveled there I kept looking at this landscape of lower and initially less impressive hills, thinking about how their forms might be photographed.
On my most recent Death Valley trip I decided to get serious about “working” this landscape, and I visited and revisited this general area three times, at different times of the day and in different conditions. (Not once did I see another photographer here, despite the easy accessibility and the interesting visual potential!) This visit was in the evening when, following my usual afternoon down time, I headed out for late afternoon and golden hour photography. I went straight to the top of a small hill I had located on earlier visits, set up to photograph, and simply watched quietly as the light evolved. The beautiful light on this hill, which is not a very striking feature in more typical light, immediately caught my attention, especially with the muted features of the more distant mountains visible beyond. This light didn’t last long, but it produced one of the quiet and subtle beauties of the desert landscape that I treasure.
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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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