Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dry Panamint Flowers

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Dry Panamint Flowers
Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

Dry Panamint Flowers. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

The title “Panamint Flowers” refers not to the identification of the flowers, but to the place where I photographed them, high in the mountains of Death Valley National Park. I was there back in January for a four-day visit. The photography was challenging — conditions were less than ideal — so on several occasions I simply went off exploring. On this day I was way out along a lonely gravel road in the Panamint Range when I spotted an old mining site off to one side. I stopped to take a look, and soon my attention shifted from the historical site to the thousands of dry flowers on the surrounding vegetation.

In retrospect, it was very fortunate that I made this trip in the January. Every year I head to Death Valley around the end of March and beginning of April for that brief interval between winter and the arrival of extremely hot and dry weather. That visit isn’t going to happen this year as national parks are shutting down and we are all sheltering in place to slow the spread of corona virus.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Late-Winter Fiddlenecks

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Late-Winter Fiddlenecks
Fiddleneck blossoms near the end of winter.

Late-Winter Fiddlenecks. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fiddleneck blossoms near the end of winter.

Two weeks ago — it seems like years now — I made my last pre-lockdown visit to a favorite natural area on Friday the 13th of this month. We had attended our last public event a week before and were already in the process of adopting social-distancing measures — a bit ahead of the curve and a bit before such things were no longer optional around here. On this visit I minimized my contacts, traveling self-contained back and forth so that the only stop I had to make was at a local gas station when I got back home.

The experience was both rewarding and somewhat strange. The main flocks I go to see had apparently departed just a few days earlier. There was almost no one else there — normally a good thing, but strange now. Against that backdrop it was clear that even on this late-winter day spring was arriving. I paused from photographing birds to make some photographs of an exuberant patch of fiddle neck blossoms.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Cranes Before Dawn

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Cranes Before Dawn
A flock of sandhill cranes reflected in a shallow pond before sunrise.

Cranes Before Dawn. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sandhill cranes reflected in a shallow pond before sunrise.

A few winters ago I mainly went to places like this to photograph the geese that arrive in flocks of thousands. Distracted by the geese, I paid less attention to other birds at first. Surprisingly, the sound of the cranes that brought them to my attention.(That, and a magical evening when thousands of them showed up unexpectedly after sunset.) When I arrived in these places before dawn after a long drive and got out of my car I was immediately taken by the call of cranes. Even though at first I did not recognize it, it is the first thing I look for now.

The behavioral patterns of the migratory birds evolve as the season progresses. The cranes seem to land in remote places early in the season, but later I can get closer to them. In early March many of them were in ponds where I could use a long lens to photograph groups. This group was part of a much larger flock in this wetland pond when I photographed them against the reflection of the pre-dawn pink sky.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Columns

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Columns
Columns of a San Franicisco building.

Columns. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Columns of a San Franicisco building.

One of my photographic habits is to take the train up to San Francisco and then walk for miles through its rich environment while I photograph people, buildings, and anything else I can find. The visual diversity there — and in similar urban places — is astonishing. At some point I almost always find myself photographing details abstracted from their surroundings. I have photographed these columns several times, but this time I decided to take that approach and divorce them entirely from their surroundings.

Many of us depend on travel to make our photographs — from relatively short jaunts like my train ride to The City to much longer expeditions. The necessity of doing our part to slow the spread of the corona virus has pretty much eliminated travel beyond our neighborhoods. But when I look more closely I can find similar subjects within walking distance of my home. How about you?

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 and Amazon.

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.

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