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

Salt Pond

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Salt Pond
“Salt Pond” — A salt pond and surrounding playa terrain near Lake Manly.

Lake Manly is not the only body of water on the Death Valley playa during this unusually wet year. That lake occupies the lowest area near Badwater, but there is a lot of water in other locations up and down the valley. I photographed this pond from Damte’s View, high in the Black Mountains. I was there before dawn, but I made this photograph much later when the early shadows had retreated back across the valley and the playa was in sunshine.

The water and the bright morning light reveal a lot of details on the playa. Not only do we see the pond, but we can see the submerged salt formations around its edge. There are channels and waterways everywhere on the playa, in comes cases separated by slightly higher bits of land where sandstorm dust has collected. At the very lower edge in this photograph we see fans spilling down from the base of the mountains and sending gravel toward the playa’s edge.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Winter Sunrise, Central Valley

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Winter Sunrise, Central Valley
“Winter Sunrise, Central Valley” — Winter sun rises beyond the Sierra Nevada as thin fog drifts among trees.

This photograph is one of the final remaining photographs from this past winter in California’s Central Valley. (Who am I kidding? There are probably more that I’ll uncover when I eventually revisit the archive.) I made it on my final visit of the season to photograph migratory birds. This photograph is the result of an unfortunate situation that ultimately turned out OK. I arrived before dawn to find that the gate was locked. As I listened to thousands of birds begin their fly-out beyond that gate, I decided that it made more sense to head off to find other opportunities, and I found this sunrise view a few miles away.

These Central Valley locations fascinate me for a variety of reasons — the migratory birds, the fog, the long views of the Sierra Nevada (as in this photo), the open vistas. Years ago I would never have imagined that such agricultural areas could provide so many photographic opportunities, but then I “discovered” the winter birds. I was hooked, and I’ve gone back every year since then.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Utility Box Art, Arezzo

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Utility Box Art, Arezzo
“Utility Box Art, Arezzo” — A take off on Magritte’s “The Man in the Bowler Hat” on a utily box in Arezzo, Italy.

This image was on, as best as I could tell, some kind of utility box near the entrance to a building in Arezzo, Italy. I recall first becoming aware of similar things in Florence a few years ago, where I saw (and also photographed) an image of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Verdi wears goggles in that image, which is the signature of an artist known as “Blub.”) I like them quite a lot — for their combination of whimsy, references to great art in everyday circumstances, and how they disrupt what can be a somewhat plain visual environment.

This was not the only one we saw in the Arezzo. As we walked around the small central area o the town we saw others with a variety of different themes. (You can find many more images by the artist, Mauricio Rapiti, on social media and elsewhere.) In this case, it wasn’t just the image itself that caught my attention, but also the way it interacts with the lines of the wall on which it is placed.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Lake Manly, Mountains, and Haze

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Lake Manly, Mountains, and Haze
“Lake Manly, Mountains, and Haze” — Blue morning haze softens the contours of desert mountains beyond Lake Manly, Death Valley.

Haze is a factor to be reckoned with when photographing in a vast landscape like Death Valley National Park. It is there even on “clear” days, and over long distances its effects can be substantial. Details are muted (especially in shadows), the colors shift toward blue, and atmospheric instability can make subjects literally shimmer. (That makes it virtually impossible to get sharp focus in some situations.) It used to leave me nonplused, but eventually I thought about how to use these characteristics — after all, they are part of the scene.

When I made this photograph it wasn’t just a matter of distance — the atmosphere actually was hazier than usual. In this interpretation of the subject I decided to embrace that haze and its softening effect on the distant mountains. This contrasts with the rather more stark contrasts between the foreground waters of Lake Manley and bits of darker land. But overall, the image retains that blue coloration that I mentioned above.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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