Badlands Valley. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A small wash passes beneath badlands terrain in morning light, Death Valley National Park.

There is a lot going on in this photograph of the Death Valley National Park landscape. Early morning light is coming from behind and to the left of the camera position and striking the eroded landforms from the side. Although it is sometime after dawn, it is early enough that the light still has a warm, post-sunrise color. All of the complex structures in the scene are interconnected — they all drain toward the desert wash at the bottom of the frame.

More than almost any other landscape that I know, the appearance of the desert changes radically depending on the direction, quality, and color of the light. I have sequences of photographs made over a half-hour period in which the transition is striking. At first, before dawn, the light is soft and blue-toned. At first light it may become intensely colorful if the sunrise cooperates. A half hour later the color fades toward that familiar desert midday harshness.

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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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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