Tag Archives: arid

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

Desert Gully

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Desert Gully, Death Valley
“Desert Gully” — Eroded formations and a desert gully, Death Valley.

The desert landscape of Death Valley National Park seems fairly static. Yes, we see dust storms blow things around a little, but even the shapes of the dunes remain fairly constant over time. The mountains and the playas look much as they did when I first saw them 25 years ago. But the reality is that this is a very dynamic landscape, and it is constantly being built up and torn down. This photograph is an obvious example of the latter process.

This light material was laid down millennia ago in the distant prehistoric past, long before people were here — and before there were even “people” at all. Over vast stretches of time the material was transformed — squashed, bent, tilted. Eventually a combination of uplift and erosion exposed it, and other processes kicked in. Here, those processes — including flowing water — have eroded and continue to erode the layers, producing this maze of small gullies and the fine silt seen at the bottom of the photo.

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

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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

Curve in the Canyon

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Curve in the Canyon
“Curve in the Canyon” — A gravel wash curves through narrows in a Death Valley canyon.

The sensations upon entering one of these canyons after walking in desert heat and sun are striking. It is suddenly much darker and much quieter, and often the air is still. At this bend in the canyon, the walls and edges conspired to create a sort of spiral shape with everything centering on the bigger and warmer-toned section in the upper center of the photograph.

Hiking these canyons they ofcanten start to feel like a steady progression back and forth — a turn to the right is soon followed by one to the left, and so forth. In some canyons this leads to a somewhat humorous “just one more”situation. I might check my watch and note that it is about my turn-around time. I tell myself, “First, just hike to the next curve.” Getting there I tell myself, “You can take a look at what is beyond this section.” So I round the bend and see the canyon continues… and, of course, I just have to continue on to the next bend… and then next… and the one after that.

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

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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

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