All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Pre-Dawn Sky, Amargosa Range

January 14, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sky above the Amargosa Range in pre-dawn light, Death Valley National Park.

I usually cannot resist the opportunity to photograph the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada when I’m in Death Valley. I especially like shooting there in the morning. I usually arrive before dawn since the pre-dawn light can create some wonderful effects on the ruins of the town’s buildings, especially if a few thin clouds and the right atmospheric conditions create some interesting light colors. So on this year’s early January trip I devoted one early morning to this subject.

As per my plan, I arrived at Rhyolite a few minutes before the good light started – it was very cold and no one else was there. In fact, I had the place to myself for the first half hour or so of my photography. I never know exactly what to expect when it comes to the dawn light. If things work out just right, and especially a bit later in the year, thin pre-dawn clouds will light up and color the light on the old town. That didn’t happen on this morning. First, I discovered that in the heart of winter, when the sun comes up a bit further south, a mountain right next to the town blocks the first light and it doesn’t strike the best ruins (such as the school and Cook Bank) until a bit later. In addition, on this morning clouds above the horizon blocked the light just a bit more than I would have liked. However… to the west and over the Amargosa Range things were rapidly becoming a lot more investing. This range was open to the light from the pre-dawn sky in the east, and high thin clouds began to pick up that colorful light that I had hoped might appear over the town. I put a long lens on the camera, moved to a position where I could get a fairly unobstructed view to the west, and made a series of exposures of this simple composition that allowed me to include a large section of the colorful sky.

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Equipment, Technique

My Backpacking Photography Article

January 13, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Since someone recently asked about the subject, I thought I’d post a link to my article on backpacking photography – equipment, how to carry it, some techniques, and so forth.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Panamint Range to the Amargosa Range, Dawn

January 13, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Dawn light on the Amargosa Range and lower ridges of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

This is another photograph from an early morning winter venture high into the Panamint Range in Death Valley National Park during the first week of the year. While the desert can be a rather drab place during most of the day, in the right conditions the colors can be nearly psychedelic for a few moments near the ends of the day – and this was one of those mornings for sure.

While many might wish for perfect, clear, haze-free atmosphere, it was the presence of some rather hazy conditions that created the wild atmospheric conditions as the sun came up on this morning. Light simply passed through clear air, but it illuminates hazy air and can make it glow. At this moment the sun had just risen and the light was nearly horizontal as it passed across the immense gulf of Death Valley to light the nearby lower ridge of the Panamint Range and the much more distant upper peaks of the Amargosa Range.

Equipment

Canon’s New Powershot G1 X Camera

January 12, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Shortly after the start of the new year, Canon announced a new camera in its “Powershot” series, the Powershot G1X. While the “Powershot” label might bring to mind something more like a consumer point and shoot camera, the G1 X provides considerably more capabilities than that might suggest. (G1 X at site sponsor B&H.)

There is a lot to note about this camera, but one of the most interesting and important features is its use of a larger sensor than used in previous Powershot designs. The earlier cameras (including the current “high end” of the series, the G12 and the closely related S100) use very small sensors. This allows those cameras to be very small and light, especially because smaller lenses can be used. They can produce quite good image quality at low ISOs, but the IQ breaks down relatively quickly if you have to shoot at a higher ISO in low light.

The G1 X sensor is considerably larger. Its 14+ megapixel sensor is only a bit smaller than that found in the Canon APS-C cropped sensor DSLR bodies (like the t3i and the 7D, etc) and it is a bit larger than the sensors in the compact four-thirds cameras. It is a lot larger than the sensor in the previous Powershot cameras. Since many photographers who have been otherwise attracted to the smaller cameras (like the S100 and the G12 ) have been slightly put off by the compromises inherent in the very small sensors, this is a big deal. The G1 X provides a relatively small and compact camera that can provide image quality that is very competitive what that produced by cropped sensor DSLRs. Continue reading Canon’s New Powershot G1 X Camera →

G Dan Mitchell Photography

All posts by G Dan Mitchell

Pre-Dawn Sky, Amargosa Range

My Backpacking Photography Article

Panamint Range to the Amargosa Range, Dawn

Canon’s New Powershot G1 X Camera

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.