Red Cliffs, Dawn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Red Cliffs, in dawn light, in front of Death Valley and distant desert mountains.
During my January visit to Death Valley National Park I ended up exploring this scene over a period of several days. My ability to travel more widely in the park was limited by storm-related road closures, so I took a closer look than usual at areas nearer main attractions. The first time I was in this area I missed the good light but saw potential, so I returned later on scout more thoroughly. (That led to a lovely, solitary hike up a long wash that doesn’t seem to get many visitors.) I went back for a third time, arriving well before sunrise and photographing until the light became less compelling.
There’s a whole lot of “Death Valley stuff” in this photograph. The foreground includes eroded badlands terrain with multi-colored soils. Above this a band of rugged red cliffs catches the day’s first direct sunlight. Further in the distance immense salt flats are still in shadow, and near the limits of visibility another big mountain range rises through the atmospheric haze.
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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