Tag Archives: arid

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

Playa and Shadowed Ridge

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Playa and Shadowed Ridge
“Playa and Shadowed Ridge” — Morning sunlight on the playa of Death Valley beyond a nearby shadowed ridge.

On one hand, this is an interesting record of something you can see in high places above Death Valley following a very wet season. On the other hand, there are several stories behind this photograph. It was morning, and I had arrived at this high overlook before dawn. Eventually the shadows of the mountains upon which I stood retreated across the valley towards me, leaving the playa in sun. At the moment that I made this exposure, there was just a small stub of the mountain shadow still in the valley, yet the jagged ridge just below me was still in dark shade.

Far below, there was a lot of water on the desert playa, much more than usual. Heavy rains during recent months had flooded a large section of the valley, and here a large pond is visible among the deposits that spread across the playa. A twisting, meandering stream leads to it. Farther out on the playa there are more channels — this landscape that we think of as being arid and hot was, on this day, full of water.

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

Dunes Detail, Sunset

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Dunes Detail, Sunset
“Dunes Detail, Sunset” — Sunset light on sand dunes, Death Valley.

Sand dunes are a source of endless fascination to photographers. They provide a sort of workshop in light, texture, composition, and associations. They can be purely abstract, but their forms can also suggest many other things — human figures, water, mountains, and so much more. When photographing dunes you can play with the relationship between the abstractions and the real, perhaps choosing to incorporate bits of elements — plants, tracks, etc. — blur the line between the abstractions and the real.

Dunes change appearance greatly depending on the time of day and the atmospheric conditions. In some sense, they are a sort of canvas on which light paints. At times the shadows can be deep and even stark, but in soft light they can be almost as light as the highlights. It is hard to say with certainty what color dunes are. In the middle of the day they may seem almost colorless, but when they pick up the colors of sky and golden hour light they may become subtly colorful.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains

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Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains
“Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains” — Morning clouds above the Panamint Range, reflected in the smooth surface of Lake Manly.

This photograph may look a bit familiar if you follow my posts. I previously shared a landscape orientation (wide) version of a similar photograph, made just moments before I exposed this one. The Panamint Mountains are in the distance, under sunrise light, and the shadow of mountains to the east still falls on the lower slopes. This is reflected in the waters of Lake Manly.

I love finding interesting juxtapositions of color, light, and shape in the landscape. The reflective water of the temporary lake provided rare opportunities here. and I was able to find a composition that stacked up layers of clouds, sky, snow-capped peaks, sunrise light, and the shadow line in the middle.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Desert Mountains, Morning

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Desert Mountains, Morning
“Desert Mountains, Morning” — A sunrise view across rugged desert mountain rainges from Dantes View, Death Valley.

I arrived at this well-known location high the Black Mountains well before sunrise. I’ve photographed here in the evening, but this time I was looking for sunrise light, which first touches the peaks of the Panamint Mountains across Death Valley, then works its way down and across the valley. Aside from the moments just before and after sunrise, these things happen relatively slowly, so I had plenty of time to look around at other subjects, too, including this view of layered desert mountain ranges.

Death Valley is the star attraction here for most people, but it is surrounded by impressive mountain ranges on all sides, and most of them are visible from this ridge. They stretch off into the far distance to the southwest. (Yes, somewhere in that direction lies Los Angeles!) The photograph looks southward along the flank of the Black Mountains, then across salt flats in Death Valley, and on toWard far more distant 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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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