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

Far Desert Mountains

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Far Desert Mountains
“Far Desert Mountains” — High desert mountain ridges sretch toward the horizon under morning clouds.

I know I am repeating myself, but one of the most impressive things about Death Valley National Park is the sheer scale of the place — the distances are huge. The only place I’ve experienced that impressed me the same way was the near-arctic in the Yukon Territories and Alaska. Here mountains go on, range after range, into the far distance. (As a friend of mine might point out, the haze here is an obvious example of “atmospheric recession.)

This photograph is also an example of why I’m a big fan of long focal lengths for landscape photography. Some will tell you that “landscape lenses” have short to normal focal lengths, and that wide-angle lenses should be your standard tools. I beg to differ. The truth? While I own ultra-wide lenses, I use them sparingly… and my favorite landscape photography lenses are often telephotos. Here I used a very long lens to compress the distance and to isolate a small, interesting section of much larger terrain.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Blue Column, Sagrada Familia

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Blue Column, Sagrada Familia
“Blue Column, Sagrada Familia” — A blue column lit by early evening light passing through colored glass windows, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona.

We visited the Gaudi-designed Sagrada Família in Barcelona last summer. The place was so visually striking that I honestly haven’t quite known what to do with the photographs, but I started digging into them recently. We are familiar with photographs of the remarkable exterior of the structure, but the interior is anrguably even more amazing. The amount of detail is nearly incomprehensible, and it is profoundly affected by the light coming through myriad stained glass windows and moving across its features.

We visited late in the afternoon, shortly before sunset — and I recommend this timing to others who may go. The sun was low in the sky when we entered, and colorful beams of light from the stained glass windows angled across the interior surfaces. Because it was late, the light was not static, instead changing constantly. Shafts of colored light moved slowly across the cathedral, striking various elements such as this column, illuminated by light coming through glue and yellow glass.

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

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

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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.

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.