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

Dunes and Desert Mountains

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Dunes and Desert Mountains
Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Dunes and Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Much of this day had been spent in locations more off the beaten track than this one, mostly places where I was entirely alone or perhaps only saw another person or two every few hours. Generally speaking, those are the places that most interest me in Death Valley, likely because I have seen and photographed the icons so many times since I began coming here over two decades ago. However, this location is one of the iconic places, one where I thought I might find the interesting light that was in such short supply on this visit! Fortunately I was right — just before sunset the clouds that had blanketed the area all day broke up enough to send some golden hour light across the landscape.

I sometimes write that heading straight to an icon can occasionally be a fine choice. For example, I strongly support first-time visitors going to these places. To borrow the old phrase, “they are icons for a reason,” and when you are new to place they are worth seeing. A second reason that draws me back to photograph an icon is when especially spectacular or unusual conditions arise, and I’m almost always on the lookout for such things. On this trip I realized there can be a reason that I had not thought of — namely that when conditions are not conducive for photography, it may simply be more possible to “make it work” in these places.

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: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Old Police Headquarters, Evening

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Old Police Headquarters, Evening
The dome of the Old Police Headquarters on a Manhattan winter evening.

Old Police Headquarters, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The dome of the Old Police Headquarters on a Manhattan winter evening.

This is another photograph from our long afternoon and evening walk from more or less Midtown down to Lower Manhattan along a route that kept us off many of the main streets and gave us a look at somewhat more intimate scenes along the way. All of the recent evening photographs that I have posted from Manhattan were made on this walk. (Eventually we ended up at Manhatta, on the 6oth floor of a building with stupendous views over the city and its surroundings.)

When I went to work on this photograph I realized that I had no idea what the dome-topped building is. By looking at photographs made just before and after this one, and by enlarging the image enough to (barely) make out the name on a street sign, I was eventually able to identify it on a digital map of Manhattan. Apparently it is, as the title states, the “Old Place Headquarters.” It is, at least from this angle, a pretty notable piece of old style architecture, especially with that impressive dome.

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

Erosion Patterns

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Erosion Patterns
Erosion channels line the walls of a Death Valley canyon in morning light.

Erosion Patterns. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Erosion channels line the walls of a Death Valley canyon in morning light.

This spot is a relatively accessible one, not terribly distant from a few other iconic locations, but one where I can usually find near solitude and lovely light early in the morning. When I’m in the general area I often swing though here on at least one morning. As such, I’ve gotten to know details of the place fairly well, to the point that I have a pretty good idea how the light will interact with the formations at various points during the day.

I went there one again during my most recent visit to Death Valley, and even though the light was a bit challenging on this morning — clouds were sometimes in the way — I spent several hours there photographing. This bit of the slope rising from this shallow canyon often presents subtle colors early in the morning, and here I photographed it just as the first direct light was sweeping across its surface.

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: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Beneath The Bridge

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“Beneath The Bridge” — Beneath a bridge, reflections from the water of a small creek on concrete structure.

This remarkable bit of texture, color, and geometry turned up where a creek passed beneath an underpass along a hiking path that I sometimes use. The patterns stopped me cold as I walked though this area, where I might typically pay almost no attendant to the photographic potential of the spot. The light reflected from the rippling water covers the scene with patterns that run in opposing directions. There is a right/left symmetry, but the tones are reversed in the two halves.

I usually carry a camera when I go out, typically a small one with a single small “pancake” lens. Most of the time I don’t even take it out, but every so often something turns up that makes me very glad I carried it. In addition, if you happen to be a fan of landscapes, when you open your eyes you may find that the “urban landscape” has a lot to offer, too.

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.