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

Evening Light, Desert Hills

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Evening Light, Desert Hills
Evening light on desert hills, Death Valley National Park

Evening Light, Desert Hills. Death Valley National Park, California. April 5, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on desert hills, Death Valley National Park

I have had my eye on this general area of Death Valley for some time, revisiting regularly to try to get a better feel for its character and photographic possibilities. It lies along a route between other more iconic subjects, but because I identify so strongly with the sense of immense space, the atmospheric haze, and the quiet of “empty” spaces in this landscape, the non-iconic nature actually appeals to me. A few years ago when I started to look more carefully at this area I was attracted to its upper portion, where it comes up against some rugged mountains. But as I traveled there I kept looking at this landscape of lower and initially less impressive hills, thinking about how their forms might be photographed.

On my most recent Death Valley trip I decided to get serious about “working” this landscape, and I visited and revisited this general area three times, at different times of the day and in different conditions. (Not once did I see another photographer here, despite the easy accessibility and the interesting visual potential!) This visit was in the evening when, following my usual afternoon down time, I headed out for late afternoon and golden hour photography. I went straight to the top of a small hill I had located on earlier visits, set up to photograph, and simply watched quietly as the light evolved. The beautiful light on this hill, which is not a very striking feature in more typical light, immediately caught my attention, especially with the muted features of the more distant mountains visible beyond. This light didn’t last long, but it produced one of the quiet and subtle beauties of the desert landscape that I treasure.

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

Predawn Clouds Above The Black Mountains

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Predawn Clouds Above The Black Mountains
Lenticular clouds build over the Black Mountains before dawn, Death Valley National Park

Predawn Clouds Above The Black Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 7, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lenticular clouds build over the Black Mountains before dawn, Death Valley National Park

Death Valley can be a tough place in general and a tough place for photography in particular. My recent trip in April of this year might be a case in point. The photography was not easy, and I faced different sorts of challenges almost every day. During the morning and evening hours when I typically look for “golden light” subjects, I had rather thick clouds on almost each day. Wind is often a challenge in the park, and this trip was no exception. And with the wind comes dust — yes, I dealt with dust storms on multiple days. On one morning I arrived at what I thought was my location in pre-dawn murky light, loaded up a pack, and wandered out into the landscape… only to realize once the light came that I was in the wrong place! While this sort of thing can make the photography edge a bit more difficult, I know that it comes with the territory, so I’m philosophical about it. If you are out there enough to encounter astonishing conditions, it is not a surprise when you find yourself at the opposite end of the bell curve on occasion. And when this does happen, if I just open myself to the terrain and look more carefully I can almost always find something.

On my second-to-last day of photography in the park I packed up my camp and left one of the popular campgrounds, with a plan of putting myself in a more isolated location, one of several that I had in mind. However, as I drove up the Valley a storm wind began to rise from the south, and soon clouds of dust and sand were filling the air and blowing north towards the places I thought I would visit. I wasn’t in the mood for camping in a dust storm so I switched gears and decided to head up into the Panamint Range where I thought the terrain might give me some protection. I arrived and set up my “camp” (which, in this case, was mostly my vehicle, in which I would roll out a sleeping bag), and almost immediately clouds filled the sky and a strong wind raced through the campsite. I hunkered down, at some dinner, and realized that this was not going to be a photography evening. The next morning, my final in the park on this trip, I was up and out of the campground at around 5:00, heading out on a gravel road to a high place with a grand panorama. As the first light appeared it became clear that the clouds had not gone away, and my hopes of a colorful sunrise were not going to be rewarded. I arrived at the destination to find that gale-force winds were raking the summit ridge. But I was there, I had my camera, I figured something might happen, so I got out and watched the sky lighten. Soon I saw this remarkable lenticular cloud formation to the southwest above the Black Mountains.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Flower-Covered Hills

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Flower-Covered Hills
Spring wildflowers in the Temblor Range, California

Flower-Covered Hills. Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. April 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers in the Temblor Range, California

I made several photographs of this little valley, with its large number of small receding ridges, covered with flowers and separated by small gullies. We had gone out searching for wildflower prospects in the evening. We drove up into the hills on a one-lane gravel road and eventually found ourselves at a dead-end where the road was closed. We got out, loaded up packs with camera equipment, and continued on up into the Temblor Hills foothills. We left the trail, crossed gully, found a route along and ascending ridge, and before long we were high enough to gain a panoramic view of the Carrizo Plains, and we began to encounter more and more flowers.

After we arrived at the highest point on our hike, which was still far below the summit of these mountains, we set about making photographs. We started on the broad summit of a nearby hill, and from there we could look across a small valley toward these hills, where a series of small ridges ascended toward the evening light. Although there were probably a bit early for the true peak of wildflower color in this spot, there were still thick beds of yellow flowers almost everywhere.

Note: This scene is very similar to that in a photograph I shared just a few days ago. As sometimes happens — especially with my idiosyncratic workflow! — I sometimes end up thinking that my second choice pleases me more than my first.

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

Rock-Covered Hill, Desert Haze

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Rock-Covered Hill, Desert Haze
A small hill covered with rocks, the salt flats, and distant mountains, Death Valley National Park

Rock-Covered Hill, Desert Haze. Death Valley National Park, California. April 5, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small hill covered with rocks, the salt flats, and distant mountains, Death Valley National Park

I distinctly recall my somewhat unusual first view of Death Valley. It was perhaps about twenty years ago. My oldest son was in a school “hiking and biking” club, and their annual “Big Trip” was to be an adventure in Death Valley involving hiking, backpacking, and more. Most of the group traveled to the park on a small bus, though I joined a group of parent chaperones and the club adviser/teacher in an old Chevy Suburban, highly modified and loaded down with backpacks and other gear for more than thirty people. We drove all day and entered the park after sunset. Because it was late we stopped at the first available camp ground, the Emigrant campground along highway 190 partway down the route below Towne Pass. We set up camp in complete darkness, unaware of our surroundings, in a landscape that I had never before seen.

Early in the morning, perhaps shortly after dawn, I crawled out of my tent and in this light saw the immense light-filled space of this great Valley for the first time, a view that extended down the gigantic fan on which we were camped, the distant valley floor thousands of feet below, and the rugged mountains on the far side of the valley. I had never seen a raw landscape like this before, with no visible plant life and its geology laid bare — a place of rock, sand, haze, juxtaposed shapes, textures, often-subtle colors, and huge distances. There is, I think, a bit of that in this photograph, which includes a dark, rocky hill that I have looked at many times, its ridge sloping the opposite direction from the distant dark hills across the valley, barely visible through the opaque atmosphere.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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.