Tag Archives: arid

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dead Creosote, Dunes

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Dead Creosote, Dunes
Morning sun on san dunes and skeletal dead creosote plants, Death Valley.

Dead Creosote, Dunes. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun on san dunes and skeletal dead creosote plants, Death Valley.

We tend to think of the landscape and, in particular, the desert landscape as being relatively static. Landscape photographers often hear comments along the lines of, “You have all the time in the world to make a photograph.” While there is some truth to this notion — yes, that mountain is likely to still be there tomorrow — things are not quite that simple, particularly at the beginning and end of the day. While the physical objects in this photograph stand still, the light most certainly does not!

This photograph was, in a sense, the result of a combination of working slowly and working quickly. Soon after arriving in this area of the dunes I saw this clump of dead creosote bushes. I thought they were interesting, but the lighting at that point wasn’t conducive to how I would photograph them. So I made a mental note about the scene and the spot and went to work on other things. A bit later the light was starting to sweep across the tops of the dunes and I turned my attention back to this subject, hoping that the angles would work out correctly to light the plants while the underlying sand remained in shadow. I waited as the light worked its way down the stems of the plants and then made the photograph during the seconds-long window just before the light struck the sand beneath them.

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

Snag and Dunes, Late Afternoon

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Snag and Dunes, Late Afternoon
The bones of a dead bush in sand dunes in late afternoon light, Death Valley National Park.

Snag and Dunes, Late Afternoon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The bones of a dead bush in sand dunes in late afternoon light, Death Valley National Park.

You might be surprised to hear that, in some ways, I’m not always a gigantic fan of wandering in the sand dunes. In some ways, they seem almost too obvious of a subject for Death Valley photography and, in all honesty, traversing dunes on foot is not exactly an easy process! (My favorite walking in this landscape is in canyons and along washes, where I can pick my own path almost anywhere.) Walking in sand, especially sand blown into the shape of dunes, is not easy — progress can be slow and access to some interesting goals can be almost impossible.

Yet I keep going back. While the dune landscape changes more slowly than you might imagine, it does change from visit to visit, and there are always surprises. The interplay of dune shapes and light provides what seems like an infinity of photographic potential. And there are few experiences quite like standing alone in an isolated section of the dunes on a warm evening as the sun drops toward the western horizon as warm evening colors and shadows arrive.

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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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

Creosote and Dunes, Morning

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Creosote and Dunes, Morning
Morning light on blooming creosote in sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Creosote and Dunes, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on blooming creosote in sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

On my recent Death Valley National Park visit I had an evening and a morning to photograph these dunes — other than that I stayed mostly in remote parts of the park. My ritual for morning photography here is much the same as it has been for years. I wake up in the pre-dawn darkness, planning to arrive near the dunes as the sky begins to lighten just enough so that I can see my way. I typically depart from a point that is distinctly not the “usual place,” and as a consequence I often have my area of the dunes to myself. After a 20-30 minute walk I arrive at an interesting portion of the dunes before the first direct sun arrives, and I. begin to photograph, continue on past sunrise until the light becomes too harsh.

I made this photograph just moments after the first direct sunlight arrived, light that was somewhat muted by haze and high clouds. The effect was to create very soft and low-contrast light. We tend to think of dunes as being transitory, but they actually tend to change their shape only very slowly, and I’m pretty sure that I have photographed this same little cluster of creosote in the past.

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

Lower Panamint Mountains

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Lower Panamint Mountains
The lower reaches of the Panamint Mountain Range at the edge of Death Valley.

Lower Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The lower reaches of the Panamint Mountain Range at the edge of Death Valley.

This photograph is my excuse to return to an old theme of my posts about Death Valley National Park. For a place with a reputation so connected to aridity and heat, the clear evidence of the role of water in the formation of this landscape is abundant. In fact, it is hard to locate any place in the park where water had not played an important role. (The repetitive pattern of dips and rises on any drive across “level” roads here is a fine reminder of the importance of flowing water.)

I made this photograph from a vantage point high in the Panamint Mountain Range, from which I could look down at the vast alluvial fans formed by material that was once above the present-day upper reaches of the range. These fans go on for miles, and the amount of material they contain is nearly incomprehensible. More durable material still sticks up above the surface of the material, and washes and gully cut across their surface nearly everywhere.

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.

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