Tag Archives: 20

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Afternoon Light

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Afternoon Light
“Afternoon Light” — Storms build as late afternoon light shines on a Sierra ridge, across the water from a rocky bluff and a patch of snow.

In the backcountry I usually spend the first and last few hours of the day photographing. In the morning I’m up before sunrise and not back in camp for hours. I head out again hours before sunset and usually keep at it until it is nearly dark. I made this photograph near the start of one of those afternoon sessions, as shadows lengthened and clouds from nearby storms added drama to the landscape.

The parallel forms of the very close and very distant ridges caught my attention, along with the beautiful green color of the inclined meadow on the other side of the lake. Technically this was a fairly difficult exposure, due to the difference between the brilliant white of sunlit clouds and the deep shadows in the left foreground exceeded that capabilities of my (or just about any) camera.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Desert Canyon, Morning Light

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Desert Canyon, Morning Light
Soft morning light on eroded landscape in a desert canyon.

Desert Canyon, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft morning light on eroded landscape in a desert canyon.

There are places and subjects that I can return to many times and still find new ways to see them. This photograph comes from one of those places, one that I remember thinking I was “done with” a long time ago,. But every time I return I discover something that I missed before. For years I have photographed from the little valley that is the subject here… but only recently realized that it could serve as the subject as well as a camera position.

This photograph, with its subtle forms and colors, is also more or less the result of an accident. I ended up at this camera position for the first time a few months ago when I went there to photograph something entirely different. Finishing with that other subject I turned around and saw this one, on that morning softened by atmospheric haze and backlight.

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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California Fall Color, Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Hills, Morning Haze

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Desert Hills, Morning Haze
Morning haze obscures distant hills above badlands formations, Death Valley Naitonal Park.

Desert Hills, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning haze obscures distant hills above badlands formations, Death Valley Naitonal Park.

This scene came as a complete surprise. I arrived at this location on a low ridge before dawn and photographed some striking geological formations to my north as the sun came up, gradually filling the landscape with light. Finishing with that subject, I turned around and looked in the opposite direction. Backlit haze had descended on the barren landscape and was glowing in the morning light.

In clear weather, this view reveals badlands in the foreground and dark and tall mountains beyond. But the light made the haze luminous and muted the details of the terrain. I’ve seen such atmosphere in this landscape before, but more often it has come as the result of dust storms. But this was a quiet and nearly still morning.

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 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.

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

Layers and Folds

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Layers and Folds
The complex geology of badlands terrain, Death Valley National Park.

Layers and Folds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The complex geology of badlands terrain, Death Valley National Park.

The landscape of Death Valley National Park is extremely varied. The popular imagination first focuses on scenes of sand dunes, the classic signifier of “desert.” But the place is full of canyons, stream beds, surprising instances of water, mountain peaks, and even forests of several types. All of these are special, but scenes like this one may embody one of the the most common elements of this landscape, the exposure of its underlying geology.

The area of this photograph is incredibly complex. It is a maze of small, eroded formations and canyons, all of them interconnected. Underlying this are uplifted layers of material in colors ranging from nearly black to nearly white, interspersed with surprising bits of red, blue, and green. I photographed here early in the morning because the light was softer and richer and because the low angle of the sun entering the scene from the side delineated the eroded features.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.