Category Archives: Photographs: Southern California

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

Creosote and Blowing Sand

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Creosote and Blowing Sand
High winds blow streamers of sand across dunes and past a lone clump of creosote in evening light.

Creosote and Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High winds blow streamers of sand across dunes and past a lone clump of creosote in evening light.

There are certain things we do not mention when in the field, things that we hope stay away and do not show up to interfere with photography. Since I’m not in the field at the moment — instead, sitting at my computer in my studio — I can go ahead and name one of them: wind. Some years back I was photographing canyons in Utah with some friends, and I was informed that I should never mention the name of this phenomenon while in the field, and if it was necessary to refer to it, the thing could only be called “W.”

“W” is often an issue in Death Valley and similar landscapes. It both creates challenges to photography (dust, camera stability, and more) and opportunities (flying dust can look spectacular!). We learn to deal with it. Sometimes this means heading off to a spot that is sheltered from the worst of it. It might mean photographing the effects of the wind (for example, a dust storm) from just outside its boundaries. Sometimes it means cautiously wading right into the maelstrom if the conditions appear to be spectacular enough, even at risk to equipment and health. Truth be told, the wind whipping up the flying sand in this photograph wasn’t that bad, especially since I could keep it mostly at my back.

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, Photographs: Southern California

First Light, Desert Mountains

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First Light, Desert Mountains
The first morning light on a ridge in desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

First Light, Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first morning light on a ridge in desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

One important factor to keep in mind when photographing in Death Valley National Park is the roughly north-south orientation of most of the valleys and mountain ranges. In a broad sense, this tends to give us two ways to photograph these subjects in the morning or evening — one in direct sun and the other in shadow and backlight. This is such a basic aspect of the park’s geography, that I often organize my daily photography around it. (There are some variations on this theme, for example in locations where some features face more towards the north or south, and interesting light often slants across them.)

This photograph takes in a small segment of the east face of the Panamint Mountains, the gigantic range separating Death Valley from the Panamint Valley to the west. This east-facing aspect of the range rises over 11,000′ from Badwater to the summit of Telescope Peak, and most of it has a remarkably rugged and barren appearance. Because it is so tall, the “sunrise” takes place over a longer time as the light works its way down from the highest peaks and ridges to the alluvial fans at their base and eventually to Death Valley itself.

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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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

Desert Mountains and Dunes, Morning

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Desert Mountains and Dunes, Morning
Desert mountains in shadow and early morning sun on dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains and Dunes, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Desert mountains in shadow and early morning sun on dunes, Death Valley National Park.

If you have been following along recently, you may recall me writing that this rocky ridge would show up a few more times in the photographs from my recent Death Valley visit. Although I never actually went to that ridge, it was off to the side as I walked to and from another subject on one evening and the following morning. The ridge runs a bit further to the right before ending with a spur that extends slightly into the broad, flat desert valley beyond.

Late in the day the surface of this ridge takes on the warm tones of sunset light, and the color of the ridge is quite different. Some red tones in the rock combine with the reddish light to produce a very colorful appearance. But this photograph was made the next morning, when the light comes from the other direction, leaving that same face in the cool-toned shadows. I made the photograph as the sun was gaining enough elevation to shine over the top of the ridge, striking the sand dunes that are near its base.

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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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

Sunset Sand

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Sunset Sand
Sunset light, shadows, and sand dune textures, Death Valley National Park.

Sunset Sand. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light, shadows, and sand dune textures, Death Valley National Park.

In the evening I found myself in an isolated place. In fact, as near as I could tell, there was no one else in these dunes at all, despite a few parties being camped not far from my location. Taking stock of the orientation of the dunes and the surrounding topography, I decided that I wanted to be at the edge of the dunes about an hour before shadows from a tall ridge to me west would arrive there. I picked out a likely-looking destination in the distant dunes, waited in my “camp” for the right moment, and then headed that way.

The complex interplay between the warm-toned light angling low through the atmosphere, the hills that would inevitably cut off that light a bit before actual sunset, and the shapes, colors, and textures of the dunes plays out rather quickly. Sometimes the ideal light may last only minutes, though this can be extended a bit by looking for higher and lower spots to photograph and by paying attention to where the light will last a bit longer as it streams through low spots in the ridge. I thought that I was probably done for the evening until I looked toward this bit of dune texture, where the last bit of light was shining through one of those gaps in the mountains to the west.

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.

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.