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

Desert Mountains, Evening

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Desert Mountains, Evening, Death Valley
“Desert Mountains, Evening” — Desert mountains tower above a huge fan and hills, Death Valley National Park.

First days in Death Valley are always a bit of a challenge. The day typically starts before dawn with a very long drive from the San Francisco Bay Area. It is at least mid-afternoon by the time I get to the park and find a campsite, and it takes an hour or so to get things set up. By this point evening isn’t that far away, so I usually pick a fairly reliable location for the first evening shoot. (I come back to camp for late dinner after dark.)

This time I headed for an area that I know pretty well, along a route that eventually leads out of the park and into Nevada. There are several locations here that I’ve been “working” for years, photographing them regularly on most visits. So I decided that the goal this evening would be to find different views in that familiar area. At my first stop I hiked to the top of a nearby hill without camera gear, just to get the lay of the land. From that elevated vantage point I could see this scene, so I headed back to my vehicle, got my gear, and set up as evening shadows stretched across the landscape.

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

2 responses to “Desert Mountains, Evening”

  1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
    G Dan Mitchell

    Hi Greg. Thanks for following my blog and for leaving a comment!

    I probably haven’t reached that 75 visit milestone yet, but I’d guess I’ve been there 35 or 40 times, most often for stays of five days or so. My first visit was in the mid to late 1990s, when I went with one of my kids’ school hiking clubs. In some ways, given the near disasters on that trip (it is a long story… ;-) it may be surprising that I ever went back. But as a long time High Sierra backpacker and cross-country skier, there was something magically different about this landscape. I still vividly recall my very first view of Death Valley itself. On the first morning I opened my tent door and looked down into the valley in the early morning light — I had never seen anything quite like it before, and I was hooked.

    As to what inspires me to go back, that’s perhaps a complex thing. I love the immense space of the place and the profound silence and stillness once you get away from the more popular locations. I’m attracted to the way that this desert landscape is laid bare, not covered by trees and brush, letting us see the geology directly. It also appeal to me that we can go almost anywhere our feet will take us in this wide open landscape.

    But this landscape is also incredibly diverse. People tend to associate Death Valley with sand dunes and barren places, and those certainly are found there. But there are also beautiful canyons, and high mountains. And there are fascinating examples of earlier human presence, ranging from the precious and fragile marks left by the first people who were already there when Europeans first arrived, up through the miners and prospectors, evidence of whose time there is all over the park.

    Photographically, this is an outstanding place to work with light. It changes all day and between seasons, and because much of the terrain is not intensely colorful the light takes over and often becomes the main show.

    I could go on, but I’ll stop there for now… :-)

    Dan

    Reply
  2. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    Dan, I have been following your blog for a few years. Amazing photography. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It looks like you have been to Death Valley
    75 times or so over the past couple of decades. I have only been 5 times in my lifetime. What inspires you to go back year after year. It is a very visual
    landscape. I find it to be very peaceful. Have a great day. Greg

    Reply

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

Desert Mountains and Sky

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Desert Mountains and Sky, Death Valley
“Desert Mountains and Sky” — Evening clouds form above desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

First day photographic subjects in Death Valley are often a bit tricky for me. It takes me about eight hours to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and when I arrive I have to find a campsite and set up my tent and other gear. By the time I finish it is typically getting close to the time when normal people would be eating dinner. Tempting, no? But I shift into “photographer mode,” and head out to find something to photograph — I’ll eat after dark when I return to camp.

While I do photograph on the first evening of these trips, I don’t generally travel that far to do it. This first evening was kind of lazy. I drove fifteen minutes to an area I know, and there I walked to the top of a nearby hill to check out the view, including these clouds. The sky is a fascinating subject in Death Valley. While big dramatic rain storms are rare (but not impossible) sometimes atmospheric conditions are affected by weather fronts that fall apart over the desert, leaving broken, dissipating clouds like these — and they can be quite dramatic.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Canyon Narrows, Amargosa Range

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Canyon Narrows, Arargosa Range, Death Valley National Park.
“Canyon Narrows, Amargosa Range” — A section of narrows in a Death Valley canyon.

You are going to see a fair number of Death Valley canyon photographs here over the next few weeks as I share images from my late February visit to the park. With a few exceptions, the most interesting canyons in the park — and there are many of them! — are less accessible than some of the other famous features. You might have to drive on dirt roads, hike up huge fans and washes, or walk through long sections of less-remarkable valleys to get to the “good stuff.” But the best of them are well worth the effort.

The canyon experience contrasts with the vast distances, intense heat and dryness, and harsh sunlight which we think of as typical in Death Valley. Canyons can be cool and shady and their narrow confines often restrict your views to a few meters. The light is often soft and filtered as it bounces down from high above. As they cut though ridges and mountains he canyons reveal ancient strata. Perhaps best of all, they are often quiet and lonely places where time seems to stop.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Meandering Channels

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Meandering Channels
“Meandering Channels” — Water flows across the salt playa through meandering channels in Death Valley.

Viewed up close from the valley floor, Death Valley is a mostly flat place blanked by tall mountains. But the details of its huge playa are largely invisible unless you travel off the paved roads and out into it. But even there, the flat terrain makes it difficult to fully understand the landforms. To do that you are better off heading to some place high above the valley and looking down into it from above.

I went one such place very early in the morning, and from there I watched the first rays of sunrise light strike the peaks of mountains across the valley, then work their way down to the valley itself. Eventually the shadows contracted and the full valley was in sun, revealing remarkable patterns of land, salt deposits, and meandering seasonal streams.

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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