Tag Archives: arid

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

Canyon Walls, Light and Dark

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Canyon Walls, Light and Dark
Contrasting light and dark walls in a narrow canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Canyon Walls, Light and Dark. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Contrasting light and dark walls in a narrow canyon, Death Valley National Park.

This is a Death Valley canyon that I have visited on numerous occasions, and this particular narrow bend is one I recall from my first visit. Because the foreground section is so narrow and angled away from the light, the contrast with the more luminous wall beyond is striking. That wall receives more light due to its angle as the canyon bends, and the warm-toned light contrasts with the blue toes in the deeply shaded foreground section.

I find this contrast between shadow and brighter light to be a wonderful generator of color contrasts in these canyons. The first such canyons I photographed were in the desert Southwest, where the light picks up the color of the reddish sandstone. But the canyons of Death Valley do not typically have such colorful rocks, and much of the color potential comes from the quality of the light itself.

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

Twisting Canyon

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Twisting Canyon
Canyon narrows twist through mountains of Death Valley National Park.

Twisting Canyon. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Canyon narrows twist through mountains of Death Valley National Park.

Near the end of March we spent an afternoon hiking up this narrow desert canyon in a somewhat remote location in Death Valley National Park. Our plan was to be in its narrows, of which there are several, at a point in the afternoon when there was still plenty of light reflecting down from above… but not so much direct light from the midday sun. So we hiked directly up the canyon without making too many stops, passing right through the narrows without stopping. We took a break, unpacked photographic equipment, and reentered the canyon to begin our return hike, which would be much slower as we stopped to photograph.

In this section the narrow canyons walls were not only close together, but they also twist and turn quite a bit. The wash at the bottom of the canyon here follows a rather zigzag path, perhaps following some ancient weaknesses in the rock. Here there were also more large rocks on the canyon floor than I typically see in these narrow sections — my assumption is that the water, diverted by this winding path though the twisting section, may be a bit more likely to drop its load of rocks and gravel here.

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

Beneath The Overhang

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Beneath The Overhang
High overhanging walls of a narrow desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Beneath The Overhang. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

High overhanging walls of a narrow desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

This is a remarkable spot in a lovely desert canyon in Death Valley National Park. After hiking up a wash for some distance and navigating around a minor impediment, the path suddenly enters the “narrows” — sections of the canyon with very high walls only feet apart where little light manages to find its way down from above. Entering the soft light, shades, and quiet of these places is always a special experience.

I have presented almost all of my photographs from my recent pair of visits to the park as color photographs. It is hard to forego color with these subjects, given the remarkable variations in the color of the landscape and the light in the desert. But here I felt that a black and white rendition made sense and suggested those characteristic feelings from being in this deep canyon.

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.

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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

Dunes, Evening Sky

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Dunes, Evening Sky
Evening sky above trackless sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Dunes, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Evening sky above trackless sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

On our late-March to these sand dunes we arrived late in the day under sky that was starting to fill with high clouds in the west. At times the clouds were thick enough to block the light and lower the contrast to an extent that seemed “beyond subtle.” But as the clouds moved thinner areas passed in front of the sun, and this was enough to give the light at least a bit of directionality. In clearer skies, the sand here would have been extremely bright, and the background sky with thin clouds would have appeared much darker.

In the end, I came away with some files that held enough contrast to work with in post, where I could focus attention on the variations in light and color on the curved dunes. By moving close to the base of the dunes I was able to angle the camera upwards and eliminate everything from the background except for the sky.

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.