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

Badlands Gullies, Morning

Image March 6, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I have a rule about returning to photograph popular subjects that I first photographed years ago: Only stop if it looks like something unusual and very special might happen. The rule applies to Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, where scores of photographers (and others) gather before dawn to await the sunrise. During the last week of February I drove past on my way to a different subject. In the dim light I thought I saw developing clouds that might produce something special at sunrise. So I (literally) slammed on the brakes, turned around, parked, and joined the throng.

The special light I hoped for didn’t develop. Instead of turning colorful at sunrise, the colors just went flat. Ah, well. I can never be fully certain about what will happen in these situations, and my hunches merely improve the odds — sometimes things don’t work like I hope. But there I was, set up to make photograph s at this location. So, what else could I photograph there? I turned my attention to nearby badlands terrain and photographed it as the direct light arrived, softened a bit by high clouds.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Crane in Sunrise Light

Image March 5, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Several things had to come together for this photograph of a lesser sandhill crane to work. Obviously, the bird had to fly above me at a relatively low height. That’s not as simple as it sounds, as cranes usually divert to avoid flying over people. The light was also special — it was the warmly colored light just after sunrise, when the sun is low enough to illuminate the underside of the bird. On top of that, the bird was flying toward the sun, so the light hits it almost head-on, while appears as side light from the camera position.

Cranes can be quite beautiful birds in flight. In contrast to some of the geese and ducks found in the Central Valley of California, they tend to move their wings more slowly and often simply glide. They are big, impressive birds, too — they stand several feed tall when on the ground.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Mannequin, Madrid

Image March 4, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

We went on a long walk on this morning in Madrid. First we trekked from our hotel near the opera house to the Sunday El Rastro street market, a wildly popular collection of hundreds of street vendors that draws huge crowds. As we began to loop back towards where we started, at some point we passed this colorful mannequin.

One of the pleasures of street photography is that I pay more attention to my surroundings. I notice things that probably would not have registered if I were not carrying a camera. At this point I don’t recall all of the details of this location, but I do know that this mannequin presented a stark and somewhat surprising contrast with the relatively mundane surroundings.

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

Overhanging Canyon Narrows

Image March 3, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I make (at least) one annual photography trip to Death Valley National Park, and I’ve been doing so for something like two decades. My favorite time to visit is in the winter. This year’s trip was during the final days of February — the calendar said winter but a heat wave made it feel more like summer, with temperatures up to ninety degrees. Many areas of the park were inaccessible due to washed out roads and to construction, so I visited a few familiar places and went to a couple of new ones.

This slot canyon is an old favorite, and I have hiked and photographed it several times in the past. The “slots” are great destination on days, like this one, when it is both windy and hot. Death Valley slot canyons are different than the better-known Utah-style slots. They often feature rather dark rock, and the slots are often shorter. In this canyon there are several sections of these narrow passages, but in between there are longer sections of open canyon.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Badlands Gullies, Morning

Crane in Sunrise Light

Mannequin, Madrid

Overhanging Canyon Narrows

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.