Dunes at Dusk

Dunes at Dusk
Soft dusk light on low sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Dunes at Dusk. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft dusk light on low sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

This subject is going to appear in several photographs from our late-March visit to Death Valley National Park. Some of them will focus on the astonishing power of a dust storm that swept through near the end of the trip. However, this one comes from a different evening, a quiet one with gentle winds and soft light.

The conditions make all the difference when photographing dunes, More than almost any other sort of landscape, the appearance of sand dunes varies greatly depending upon intensity, quality, and color of light. Here I photographed in the early twilight just after the sun had dropped behind distant mountains in the west. The dunes picked up the pink of the sunset, the blue of the sky, and the softness of indirect light.


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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