Category Archives: Photographs: Desert

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

Dunes and Distant Hills

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Dunes and Distant Hills, Death Valley
“Dunes and Distant Hills” — Death Valley sand dunes and distant desert hills in morning light.

The photograph’s title includes the words, distant hills.” But just how distant are they? From my position as I made this photograph, once I got to my vehicle, it would be a roughly 10 mile drive to those hills. Distances (and sizes) can be very deceptive in this park where we often experience huge vistas with features many miles away.

I made this photo near the end of the morning’s work. I had started before dawn, both to photograph in the soft predawn light and because I wanted to be in place for the arrival of the first direct sunlight. When that arrives, things transform very quickly. At first the color-saturated light hits only the high points, but as it increases the light works down onto and around other features.

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

Salt Flat Reflections

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Salt Flat Reflections, Death Valley
“Salt Flat Reflections” — The lower slopes of the Panamint Mountains are reflected in shallow water on Death Valley salt flats.

The experience of making this photograph was perhaps as enjoyable as the scene itself. I was up very early and walked out to the edge of the salt flat a bit more than a half hour before sunrise. From earlier scouting I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be. Out there next to the playa it was utterly silent and still, and I was the only person there to witness the morning light coming to the Panamint Range and then the valley.

It may seem counterintuitive to go to Death Valley to photograph a mountain range reflected in still water. But out in the valley, a good distance from the roadways, there is essentially always water. It may be in pools and slowly evaporating or, as here, it flows slowly all year long. The water in the photo is probably less than an inch deep, but that’s enough to produce a fine reflection.

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

Mesquite Plants, Dunes

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Mesquite Plants, Dunes, Death Valley
“Mesquite Plants, Dunes” — Mesquite plants growing on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Mesquite manages to survive and occasionally prosper in very unlikely conditions. This thriving instance is growing in the middle of dunes in Death Valley, not exactly the most friendly environment. In the dunes, isolated clumps of vegetation like this create their own little ecosystems. The plants interfere with the windblown passage of sand, and in their shelter you can often find evidence of animal life — insects, lizards and snakes, occasional tracks of small mammals.

If you spend much time out in the dunes you soon realize that a lot of these plants are dead or nearly so, existing now just as snags. It is a tough environment! This little clump of mesquite is one of the healthiest I have encountered.

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 “Mesquite Plants, Dunes”

  1. hokkum Avatar
    hokkum

    Clarity is of course terrific, but even more interesting is the contrast between life and apparent death.

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      That contrast is never far away in the desert, is it?

      Dan

      Reply

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

Desert Mountains, Evening

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Desert Mountains, Evening, Death Valley
“Desert Mountains, Evening” — Desert mountains tower above a huge fan and hills, Death Valley National Park.

First days in Death Valley are always a bit of a challenge. The day typically starts before dawn with a very long drive from the San Francisco Bay Area. It is at least mid-afternoon by the time I get to the park and find a campsite, and it takes an hour or so to get things set up. By this point evening isn’t that far away, so I usually pick a fairly reliable location for the first evening shoot. (I come back to camp for late dinner after dark.)

This time I headed for an area that I know pretty well, along a route that eventually leads out of the park and into Nevada. There are several locations here that I’ve been “working” for years, photographing them regularly on most visits. So I decided that the goal this evening would be to find different views in that familiar area. At my first stop I hiked to the top of a nearby hill without camera gear, just to get the lay of the land. From that elevated vantage point I could see this scene, so I headed back to my vehicle, got my gear, and set up as evening shadows stretched across the landscape.

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 “Desert Mountains, Evening”

  1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
    G Dan Mitchell

    Hi Greg. Thanks for following my blog and for leaving a comment!

    I probably haven’t reached that 75 visit milestone yet, but I’d guess I’ve been there 35 or 40 times, most often for stays of five days or so. My first visit was in the mid to late 1990s, when I went with one of my kids’ school hiking clubs. In some ways, given the near disasters on that trip (it is a long story… ;-) it may be surprising that I ever went back. But as a long time High Sierra backpacker and cross-country skier, there was something magically different about this landscape. I still vividly recall my very first view of Death Valley itself. On the first morning I opened my tent door and looked down into the valley in the early morning light — I had never seen anything quite like it before, and I was hooked.

    As to what inspires me to go back, that’s perhaps a complex thing. I love the immense space of the place and the profound silence and stillness once you get away from the more popular locations. I’m attracted to the way that this desert landscape is laid bare, not covered by trees and brush, letting us see the geology directly. It also appeal to me that we can go almost anywhere our feet will take us in this wide open landscape.

    But this landscape is also incredibly diverse. People tend to associate Death Valley with sand dunes and barren places, and those certainly are found there. But there are also beautiful canyons, and high mountains. And there are fascinating examples of earlier human presence, ranging from the precious and fragile marks left by the first people who were already there when Europeans first arrived, up through the miners and prospectors, evidence of whose time there is all over the park.

    Photographically, this is an outstanding place to work with light. It changes all day and between seasons, and because much of the terrain is not intensely colorful the light takes over and often becomes the main show.

    I could go on, but I’ll stop there for now… :-)

    Dan

    Reply
  2. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    Dan, I have been following your blog for a few years. Amazing photography. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It looks like you have been to Death Valley
    75 times or so over the past couple of decades. I have only been 5 times in my lifetime. What inspires you to go back year after year. It is a very visual
    landscape. I find it to be very peaceful. Have a great day. Greg

    Reply

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