Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

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

Just a Cloud

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Just a Cloud
“Just a Cloud” — Sunset clouds over Death Valley, February 2025.

I spotted this cloud at the end of a very long day that began in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was on the road before sunrise, heading for Death Valley National Park. I crossed the Diablo Range, continued south on Interstate 5, then crossed the Great Central Valley through Bakersfield to climb Tehachapi Pass. From there I dropped into high desert, took route 14 north along the “baby Sierra,” then followed backroads up past Trona, eventually entering the park and crossing Towne Pass. It was after 3:00 when I finally got a campsite and started setting up.

Once I had established my camp, it was time for photography. On one hand I was excited to get started. On the other hand, after that long day it would have been easier to just enjoy a quiet evening in camp. But off I went, to an elevated position from which I could photograph sunset light on desert mountains. After the light left those peaks, it still produced some color on a few dissipating lenticular clouds high above the Panamint 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: Nature

Ready to Bloom

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Ready to Bloom
“Ready to Bloom” — A tulip bud on the verge of opening.

Here is (yet another!) of my tulip photos from a spring garden trek with Patty. This garden, at an old estate on the San Francisco Peninsula, puts on a remarkable tulip show every spring, and we often go once or twice to photograph. Tulip color can be intense in the sunlight, but I prefer to photograph the flowers in the shade, where soft light fills shadows and the colors are a bit more muted.

These tulips were growing in pots that had been placed, well, nearly everywhere around this immense garden. So I searched out examples that were in my ideal light, sometimes working quickly to photograph them before the direct sunlight showed up and obliterated the subtleties of color and texture.

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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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Corkscrew Peak, Evening

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Corkscrew Peak, Evening, Death Valley
“Corkscrew Peak, Evening” — Evening light on the giant alluvial plain leading up towards Corkscrew Peak.

This peak has long intrigued me — along with the entire ridge that it lies on. Perhaps the name first caught my attention when I was trying to identify landmarks in photographs I took from out in the Valley. Hint: it does not really look much like a corkscrew, though I can see how the tilted rock layers that seem to run around it inspired the name.

I photographed this on my first evening in Death Valley back in February. After a very long drive from the Bay Area I set up camp, rested a bit, and then it was time to go find something to photograph. Since it was late in the day I wanted to keep it somewhat simple, so I headed to this spot along a road leading out of the Valley, arriving just in time to photograph the day’s last light.

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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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Organic Landscape

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Organic Landscape, Death Valley
“Organic Landscape” — Erosion patterns in a desert landscape, Death Valley.

Believe it or not, I am getting to the end of the photographs I made on this year’s winter visit to Death Valley National Park. I go every year during the cool months, sometimes more than once. When I returned at the end ofFebruary I wasn’t sure if I had gotten many keepers, but since then I have managed to find more than a few. This is a typical situation — I often don’t immediately see the potential in image files, and it takes a while to get to know them.

This photograph includes a small section with details of a portion of Death Valley “badlands” terrain. I photographed it in the early morning, before the direct sunlight arrived. The soft light and the curving shapes remind me of forms we see in living things, hence the “organic” title.

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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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)