Category Archives: Photographs: Desert

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

Layers, Morning Light

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Layers, Morning Light, Death Vally
“Layers, Morning Light” — Early mornign light highlights layers of gullies and ridges in the Death Valley landscape.

Yes, yet another photograph of these well-known formations in Death Valley. Hey, I don’t photograph this specific spot that often these days, so maybe I can be excused for working it to death on this one unexpected visit? This is a small section of a larger badlands landscape that lies around and below this popular sunrise location in the park.

If you are interested — and if you follow me regularly — you can get a sort of overview of how the light changes on these features in the morning by looking at the series of photographs I am posting from this visit. I started before sunrise, continued as the sun hit nearby features and cast soft light into the scene, and finished up only as the first direct light (fortunately softened a bit high thin clouds) spread across the area.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

2 responses to “Layers, Morning Light”

  1. Oscar Avatar
    Oscar

    I marvel at your dedication to capture nature and the human experience!

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      Thanks!

      Reply

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

Curve in the Canyon

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Curve in the Canyon
“Curve in the Canyon” — A gravel wash curves through narrows in a Death Valley canyon.

The sensations upon entering one of these canyons after walking in desert heat and sun are striking. It is suddenly much darker and much quieter, and often the air is still. At this bend in the canyon, the walls and edges conspired to create a sort of spiral shape with everything centering on the bigger and warmer-toned section in the upper center of the photograph.

Hiking these canyons they ofcanten start to feel like a steady progression back and forth — a turn to the right is soon followed by one to the left, and so forth. In some canyons this leads to a somewhat humorous “just one more”situation. I might check my watch and note that it is about my turn-around time. I tell myself, “First, just hike to the next curve.” Getting there I tell myself, “You can take a look at what is beyond this section.” So I round the bend and see the canyon continues… and, of course, I just have to continue on to the next bend… and then next… and the one after that.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows

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Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows
“Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows” — Early morning light casts long shadows across desert mountains, Death Valley.

This photograph was sort of “unintended” — I made it after I finished with my primary subject for the morning. A plan to photograph shallow water near the edge of salt flats brought me to this spot well before sunrise. The Panamint range (behind the camera position in the photograph) catches the first light, and I photographed from its arrival on the highest peak until it worked its way all the way down and across the valley floor.

This was a period of focused and continuous photography which sometimes entailed working quickly as the light changed — and refocusing a tilt/shift lens setup that I was using. Eventually the light came to my camera position, and the landscape of light and shadow that I had come for was now behind me, literally and temporally. I paused, looked up, took in the full circle of the landscape, and for the first time noticed the morning shadows stretching across these desert hills and mountains.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Badlands Detail

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Badlands Detail, Death Valley
“Badlands Detail” — Photograph of details of badlands gullies in soft morning light, Death Valley National Park.

The pink color of the formations in this photograph was a big part of its appeal. It was early morning, and the direct sunlight had worked its way back across the valley to the tops of ridges nearly, and the light’s warm color washed over the nearly-white material of these ridges and valleys. Again, the Death Valley landscape, which can be rather subtly colored, served as a canvas for the effects of colorful light.

The location is at Zabriskie Point — I’m not giving away any secrets by mentioning this well-known location. It is one of the two or three most popular places in the park to view the sunrise. It was an unanticipated turn of events that brought me to this location, and I was originally going somewhere else when I set out before dawn.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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