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

Two Hikers at the Summit of Death Valley Dunes

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Two Hikers at the Summit of Death Valley Dunes
Two Hikers at the Summit of Death Valley Dunes

Two Hikers at the Summit of Death Valley Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two hikers take in the evening landscape of Death Valley National Park from the Summit of the dunes.

Many times I might have been disappointed to have two hikers enter “my” scene in such beautiful dusk light, but here I feel like they crystalize the scene. In a larger version of the photograph the two of them seem to stand silently facing the rugged vastness of Death Valley – and I think their presence invites us to think of ourselves in the scene and to imagine our own reaction to it.

My favorite time to photograph these iconic dunes near Stovepipe Wells is in the evening during a brief interval right around sunset and lasting a while after the sun drops behind the peaks to the west. The light softens, especially if there is a bit of haze in the sky, and the dunes that are so bright and harsh at other times of day take on a smoother and softer quality and their subtle colors become visible.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Commentary

An Interview With… Me!

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Fellow California photographer Ivan Makarov has posted an interview with me at his blog. It was a special pleasure to do this with Ivan in that I think there are some real connections between his work and mine. In his introduction he notes that he can recognize my photographs from small thumbnails, even when posted among those of other photographers. It turns out that Ivan also has a characteristic style in his work that I can recognize quickly – and it is a style that I find quite appealing.

Thanks, Ivan!