Creosote, Dunes, Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Morning light on blooming creosote plants in the dunes, Death Valley National Park.
While much of my recent visit to Death Valley focused on relatively out of the way locations and subjects, I did spend one night at the Stovepipe Wells campground/parking lot. (If you have been there, you understand the reference.) The idea was that sleeping there for one night would put me in the best location to photograph in the nearby dunes in the evening and again very early the next morning. This photograph comes from the morning session, not too long. before I packed my gear, headed back to my vehicle, made a quick breakfast, and drove to another of those isolated locations.
The ritual of morning photography in these dunes is familiar to me by now. I get up before sunrise so that I can arrive at the point of departure for my walk into the dunes well before the sun comes up. Getting to the locations where I like to photograph can take between 15 minutes and a half hour of walking. Once I’m in position I usually have to work somewhat quickly since the light begins to change quickly. I’ll usually photograph a bit in the soft pre-sunrise light first. Then the first direct light on the peaks to the west alerts me that the direct sun will be here soon, and I turn my attention to finding subjects to photograph in the moments when the light/shadow boundary moves through the scene. I made this photograph considerably later, just as the increasingly bright light was a about to begin washing out the subtle early colors.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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I’m tempted to say “lighting is everything…” but then there’s composition, subject, color… ;-)
The change in light affects so many things and in so many ways. Almost everything about this subject is deeply affected by the momentary conditions when I made the photograph. A bit earlier and the colors would be deeper and the shadows darker and in different positions. A bit later and the colors would be fading, the shadows become more stark.
I love that softness of this photo. Nature so incredible. If you would’ve photographed the same scene in full light it would have been interesting to compare the two! I have learned so much about lighting from you. I’m always teaching my neighbors what I’ve learned, We’ve even started a little ‘nature almanac’ photo stream where we can all post pictures.
I think that may be due to several things. There are a lot of smooth gradients in the dunes, especially at this early hour with the low light. And with the haze and distance those mountains beyond them are almost devoid of details.
This actually almost looks more like a painting than a photograph.. how interesting!!