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

Desert Clouds, Evening

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Desert Clouds, Evening
“Desert Clouds, Evening” — Sunset light colors evening clouds above Death Valley.

Let’s call this a moment of peace and calm in a world that sometimes seems too tumultuous. I photographed this cloud formation above Death Valley on a quiet evening, alone in a high place above the valley as the day ended. I was there to photograph the landscape, but at this moment it was the cloudscape that caught my attention.

It isn’t news that clouds are fascinating. While they often appear as supporting acts in landscape photography, sometimes they form temporary “cloudscapes” on their own. That ephemeral quality is part of their magic — one moment there might me nothing there, but soon they silently assemble into fascinating shapes and juxtapositions, only to dissolve and re-form a moment later.

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

Sunrise, Lake Manley and Panamint Mountains

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Sunrise, Lake Manley and Panamint Mountains
“Sunrise, Lake Manly and Panamint Mountains” — Sunrise on the Panamint Mountains reflected in the ephemeral waters of Lake Manly

This is a photograph that is normally not possible in Death Valley — The image of a snow-capped mountain range reflected in the extensive waters of a gigantic lake. These are the Panamint Mountains, rising to over 11,000 feet on the far side of Death Valley. This winter the playa was covered by the shallow waters of ephemeral Lake Manly.

It was hard to resist the symmetry of this scene with the reflection in the still water was a near duplicate of the distant scene. I made the photograph after the morning sun had arrived on the higher peaks, but before it had worked its way down to the valley floor, thus the dark band across the middle of the image.

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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Cranes

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Flock of Cranes
“Flock of Cranes” — A flock of lesser sandhill cranes feeding in an agricultural field.

Unless and until I return to my old files to review them later on, this is likely this season’s last photograph of migratory birds. I photographed this group of lesser sandhill cranes in an old corn field on my final seasonal visit back in early March. By that date the departure of geese was perhaps a week away and the cranes would leave soon after that. This was nearly the last photograph of them I made this season.

There is a familiar arc to “migratory bird season,” as I think of the period between about November and March. Although the cranes arrive earlier, I usually make my first visit to photograph them in November. At that point they are fewer in number and likely to be off in some distant inaccessible area, and mostly I photograph them during the morning and evening fly-in/out. As the season continues they seem to become more comfortable in their surroundings, and I can often find them close enough to photograph in the middle of the day. But mid-February they and the geese become extremely active in the weeks before their northward migration.

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

Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains

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Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains
“Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains” — Layers of colorful dawn clouds above Searles Valley and distant peaks of Death Valley National Park.

The distant peaks seen here are within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park, but I was a good distance outside the park when I made the photograph. I had gone to the Trona Pinnacles, outside the extractive mining town of Trona to photograph. But the visual action wasn’t that at the pinnacles that morning — it was far to the north above these snow-capped desert mountains, where lenticular clouds caught the dawn light and momentarily glowed with intense color.

The town of Trona is like many desert towns in Southern California and the Southwest. It is far from being a ghost town, but it has the air of a place whose best days are distinctly behind it. The economy is built around extractive industries, in particular mining the mineral deposits of the Searles Valley playa. People still live and work here, but a drive past the town reveals abandoned homes and businesses, left to decay in the desert sun and wind.

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.