Desert Canyon, Morning Light

Desert Canyon, Morning Light
Soft morning light on eroded landscape in a desert canyon.

Desert Canyon, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft morning light on eroded landscape in a desert canyon.

There are places and subjects that I can return to many times and still find new ways to see them. This photograph comes from one of those places, one that I remember thinking I was “done with” a long time ago,. But every time I return I discover something that I missed before. For years I have photographed from the little valley that is the subject here… but only recently realized that it could serve as the subject as well as a camera position.

This photograph, with its subtle forms and colors, is also more or less the result of an accident. I ended up at this camera position for the first time a few months ago when I went there to photograph something entirely different. Finishing with that other subject I turned around and saw this one, on that morning softened by atmospheric haze and backlight.


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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