Death Valley, Panamint Foothills, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Morning sunlight on Death Valley hills and the foothills of the Panamint Mountains.
One’s orientation to “landscape” may manifest in many ways — a focus on the large or the small, an approach that implies objective realism or one that embraces subjectivity, the discovery of new landscapes or the deeper exploration of those already known, an interest in ostensibly “untouched” subjects or attention to those affected by the human presence, and more. Death Valley is diverse enough for any of these, but I often find myself focusing on the largest scale subjects. The place is huge, and at the right hours, in the right seasons, and in the right places the park is a place of deep silence and immense stillness.
This was the last morning of my most recent visit, and I went out alone very early, heading to a place that afforded a somewhat elevated perspective. As I traveled there I was not optimistic about the prospects for the morning — the sky was mostly overcast, there was a bluish haze in the air, and even the earliest light was blocked by clouds to the east. But one thing I relearn nearly every time I go out is that if you go out enough and are persistent enough, things happen, and sometimes they happen at the least likely times. As this morning wore on, some time after the first light that could have been colorful, the sun began to break through the clouds, and areas of light and shadow moved across this immense landscape. As I made this photograph the light was shining on the foothills of the Panamint Range, many miles away and on the far side of Death Valley.
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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Thanks, Karl. That means a lot coming from you. (I think of your dune photographs every time I’m out there, including on several dune visits on this trip.)
While I was subconsciously aware of the immensity of this space when I made the photograph — as I always am in DEVA — it wasn’t until a day or two ago that I stopped to consider the actual scale of this scene. The valley is probably about 10 miles across at this point, but I’m looking across it diagonally and from a perspective several miles up into the hills above its eastern edge. So the bottom of the giant alluvial fan on the other side must be at least 15 miles away and perhaps farther. And those hills at the far edge? Perhaps twice that far.
The only other place I’ve been to that evokes the same sense of scale and emptiness was The Yukon.
Take care,
Dan
Dan
This is a terrific image. It faithfully renders the emotional impact (jaw drop) of the massive scale of the place, which is very hard to do. Wish I had been there to see it. Well seen, well done.