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

Layers, Morning Light

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Layers, Morning Light, Death Vally
“Layers, Morning Light” — Early mornign light highlights layers of gullies and ridges in the Death Valley landscape.

Yes, yet another photograph of these well-known formations in Death Valley. Hey, I don’t photograph this specific spot that often these days, so maybe I can be excused for working it to death on this one unexpected visit? This is a small section of a larger badlands landscape that lies around and below this popular sunrise location in the park.

If you are interested — and if you follow me regularly — you can get a sort of overview of how the light changes on these features in the morning by looking at the series of photographs I am posting from this visit. I started before sunrise, continued as the sun hit nearby features and cast soft light into the scene, and finished up only as the first direct light (fortunately softened a bit high thin clouds) spread across the area.

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 “Layers, Morning Light”

  1. Oscar Avatar
    Oscar

    I marvel at your dedication to capture nature and the human experience!

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      Thanks!

      Reply

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

Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows

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Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows
“Desert Mountains, Morning Shadows” — Early morning light casts long shadows across desert mountains, Death Valley.

This photograph was sort of “unintended” — I made it after I finished with my primary subject for the morning. A plan to photograph shallow water near the edge of salt flats brought me to this spot well before sunrise. The Panamint range (behind the camera position in the photograph) catches the first light, and I photographed from its arrival on the highest peak until it worked its way all the way down and across the valley floor.

This was a period of focused and continuous photography which sometimes entailed working quickly as the light changed — and refocusing a tilt/shift lens setup that I was using. Eventually the light came to my camera position, and the landscape of light and shadow that I had come for was now behind me, literally and temporally. I paused, looked up, took in the full circle of the landscape, and for the first time noticed the morning shadows stretching across these desert hills and 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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Salt Flat Reflections

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Salt Flat Reflections, Death Valley
“Salt Flat Reflections” — The lower slopes of the Panamint Mountains are reflected in shallow water on Death Valley salt flats.

The experience of making this photograph was perhaps as enjoyable as the scene itself. I was up very early and walked out to the edge of the salt flat a bit more than a half hour before sunrise. From earlier scouting I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be. Out there next to the playa it was utterly silent and still, and I was the only person there to witness the morning light coming to the Panamint Range and then the valley.

It may seem counterintuitive to go to Death Valley to photograph a mountain range reflected in still water. But out in the valley, a good distance from the roadways, there is essentially always water. It may be in pools and slowly evaporating or, as here, it flows slowly all year long. The water in the photo is probably less than an inch deep, but that’s enough to produce a fine reflection.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Badlands Formations

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Badlands Formations, Death Valley
“Badlands Formations” — A pattern of badlands ridges and gullies in early morning light, Death Valley.

I don’t always photograph at Zabriskie Point — in fact, it was sort of an accident that I ended up there this February. But when I stop there I am always intrigued by the nearly limitless opportunities to photograph small details in the nearby badlands. There are two times of day when I like to photograph this subject. In the harsh midday light, the shadows can produce strong contrasts between the bright and dark elements. But early morning light softens the features, fills in the shadows, and sometimes introduces the reflected colors of the sky.

I was there, of course, very early — at least a half hour before sunrise, as the sky was just beginning to lighten. I did not plan to stop, but I thought I saw clouds that might produce sunrise color. So I abandoned my previous plans and stopped here. As the morning sun arrived on features to the west — the Valley and the Panamint Range — the soft light remained on these features below the overlook.

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


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