Category Archives: Photographs: Desert

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

Desert Mountains, Evening Clouds

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Desert Mountains, Evening Clouds
Dramatic clouds above Death Valley mountains at the end of the day.

Desert Mountains, Evening Clouds. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dramatic clouds above Death Valley mountains at the end of the day.

From time to time I like to revisit my black and white roots. I started photography quite a few years ago, and back then everything was black and white for me. (Color slide film was available, but I didn’t use that until some time later. ) I learned to develop and print in black and white, and I certainly learned to see that way. So black and white is still at the heart of my photography.

In this photograph I made a conscious effort to channel a particular (and perhaps familiar?) approach to monochromatic landscape, relying not just on capturing an image of a particular scene but also on producing an interpretation of that scene using the tools of the digital darkroom. The experience of photographing the scene was special and a bit surprising. After a day of decidedly so-so light I set up on an elevated vantage point in the early evening, not necessarily expecting great light but ready if it should arrive. And it did arrive during the final minutes of daylight just before the sun dropped below a desert mountain range behind my camera position.

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 and Amazon.

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

Desert Mountains, Evening Virga

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Desert Mountains, Evening Virga
A large band of virga falls from winter clouds above Death Valley mountains.

Desert Mountains, Evening Virga. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large band of virga falls from winter clouds above Death Valley mountains.

This was an evening of brief but miraculous atmosphere and light, largely because it was so unexpected. In January I had gone to Death Valley for a few days of winter photography. With the possible exception of the wildflower season, this is my favorite time to visit this landscape. The temperatures are moderate and even cold, crowds often diminish, and passing weather systems can produce beautiful skies. However, I managed to hit four days of fairly “blah” photographic weather — thick, undramatic clouds, opaque atmosphere, and a lot of flat light. What can I say? It happens if you are out there enough!

In such conditions, sometimes persistence can pay off. I kept at it, often in conditions that were not conducive to making special photographs, but that did keep me in the field. And at several points, typically for quite short periods of time, the light did show up. This evening was one of those times. Shortly before it had been overcast and gray, but during the last half hour or so of daylight the sun dropped below a cloud bank and shone through a horizontal gap, lighting mountains, desert and clouds, including one of the largest virga clouds I have seen, with rain falling towards but not reaching the mountains below.

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 and Amazon.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Dunes and Desert Mountains

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Dunes and Desert Mountains
Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Dunes and Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Much of this day had been spent in locations more off the beaten track than this one, mostly places where I was entirely alone or perhaps only saw another person or two every few hours. Generally speaking, those are the places that most interest me in Death Valley, likely because I have seen and photographed the icons so many times since I began coming here over two decades ago. However, this location is one of the iconic places, one where I thought I might find the interesting light that was in such short supply on this visit! Fortunately I was right — just before sunset the clouds that had blanketed the area all day broke up enough to send some golden hour light across the landscape.

I sometimes write that heading straight to an icon can occasionally be a fine choice. For example, I strongly support first-time visitors going to these places. To borrow the old phrase, “they are icons for a reason,” and when you are new to place they are worth seeing. A second reason that draws me back to photograph an icon is when especially spectacular or unusual conditions arise, and I’m almost always on the lookout for such things. On this trip I realized there can be a reason that I had not thought of — namely that when conditions are not conducive for photography, it may simply be more possible to “make it work” in these places.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Erosion Patterns

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Erosion Patterns
Erosion channels line the walls of a Death Valley canyon in morning light.

Erosion Patterns. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Erosion channels line the walls of a Death Valley canyon in morning light.

This spot is a relatively accessible one, not terribly distant from a few other iconic locations, but one where I can usually find near solitude and lovely light early in the morning. When I’m in the general area I often swing though here on at least one morning. As such, I’ve gotten to know details of the place fairly well, to the point that I have a pretty good idea how the light will interact with the formations at various points during the day.

I went there one again during my most recent visit to Death Valley, and even though the light was a bit challenging on this morning — clouds were sometimes in the way — I spent several hours there photographing. This bit of the slope rising from this shallow canyon often presents subtle colors early in the morning, and here I photographed it just as the first direct light was sweeping across its surface.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.