Category Archives: Photographs: Death Valley

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Rocks, Playa, Desert Mountains

Image February 21, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Afternoon light on desert mountains beyond rocks and playa, Death Valley.

This spot has drawn my attention over many years of visits to Death Valley. It would be easy to miss — it is just a rock-covered hill next to a roadway, in a location where people are most likely looking in a different direction. But I stop here frequently and poke around, looking for photographs. It hasn’t been easy!

One of the challenges here is that, in my view, the best time to photograph here is in the late afternoon, just before the sun drops behind the far ridge. Not only does this bring the challenges of shooting almost directly into the sun, but the black rocks and easy turn into pure black shadows. It is also a bit of a challenge to find combinations of rocks that have some kind of compositional integrity. This photograph comes from an afternoon when some dust and haze highlighted light beams from the late-day sun.

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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Wash, Before Sunrise

Image February 20, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pre-sunrise light gently illuminates badlands and desert sky, Death Valley.

This is perhaps not the most common light that I photograph, although I experience it frequently. The time is just before sunrise, when the growing light turns the sky pink but the shadows remain blue, as do the lower reaches of the sky which are still in the “earth shadow.” The light is soft and, as is often true in such places, it was completely silent. (Some may recognize this scene from another photograph I shared recently.)

The light at this moment is not as spectacular, at least not in the familiar way, as that what is destined to arrive when the first direct sunlight strikes the landscape. I suppose that the anticipation is part of what makes it special. Making it even better, I was here alone, in complete solitude. (Some may recognize this scene from another photograph I shared recently.)

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Holly, Badlands Wash

Image February 19, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A desert holly plant grows in a wash in Death Valley badlands.

I went to this general location to photograph something else — there’s a nearby vista that I had photographed during mid-morning light, and I wanted to try it a bit earlier in the day. As I slowly headed that way I was distracted by many other possibilities. One was this little wash, emerging from low, eroded badlands hills and quickly emptying into a much larger main stem wash. The wash was almost barren, with only a few desert holly plants here and there.

This desert plant is among my favorites. That may seem a bit odd, as it doesn’t display spectacular flowers, its color is a subtle gray-green, and often whole sections of the plant seem dormant or dead. But it is a survivor, growing in remarkably dry and inhospitable places — like this gravel-filled wash, a very hot and exposed place that rarely receives significant rain.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dune Patterns, Evening

Image February 18, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening side-light highlights the textures of san dunes, Death Valley National Park.

What photographic visit to Death Valley would be complete without at least one photograph of sand dunes? I did not devote much time to that subject on this visit, but I did spend an evening among the dunes, arriving before sunset and continuing to photograph into the early dusk, when I could work with softer light.

In this location the direct light ends a bit before the actual sunset time, since a range of tall mountains stands to the west, casting long shadows across the dunes. After photographing there for years, I’m still surprised when these shadows arrive and suddenly the light is gone. I made this photograph during the brief window of golden hour light just before that happened.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Death Valley

Rocks, Playa, Desert Mountains

Desert Wash, Before Sunrise

Desert Holly, Badlands Wash

Dune Patterns, Evening

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