Tag Archives: barren

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

Canyon and Mountains, Morning

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Canyon and Mountains, Morning
A Death Valley canyon and mountains, backlit by early morning winter light.

Canyon and Mountains, Morning. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Death Valley canyon and mountains, backlit by early morning winter light.

I have a bit of a long relationship with this spot in Death Valley. I stop there on almost every visit to the park, typically either very early in the morning (arriving before dawn) or else for last light in the evening. I’ve been there when the wind was strong enough to make it difficult to walk, when it was unbelievably cold, on still warm days, in blah conditions that made me ask “why?,” — and on one memorable occasion I had to turn back because there was too much snow!

As a photographic subject this landscape is greatly dependent on conditions of atmosphere and light. in “normal” light in the middle of the day it is a gigantic vista but rarely a compelling photograph. But early in the morning very interesting things can happen, especially when the backlight is strong and there is just enough haze in the air to make the atmosphere glow.

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 and Amazon.

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

Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains

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Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains
Morning shadows stretch across a wide valley high in the Panamint Mountains.

Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning shadows stretch across a wide valley high in the Panamint Mountains.

This photograph comes from a wonderful winter week in Death Valley a few years ago. Death Valley has increasingly become another busy national park, especially during the late winter and spring, and even more so during spring break and some of the longer winter holidays. But that had not quite taken off eight years ago when I spent a wonderfully lonely week in the park, having many places completely to myself… and experiencing some of the coldest weather I have encountered there.

I had been up high in the Panamint Mountains at dawn on this morning. After finishing with some photography of a particular subject up there, it was time to move on to the next subject. I headed down a gravel backcountry road, dropping into one high valley, and then continuing into an even larger valley below that. I paused here to look into those two valleys as the rising sun was casting long shadows across the landscape. This place always evokes the silence and immense expanse of this desert landscape.

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 and Amazon.

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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

Eroded Strata

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Eroded Strata
Colorful eroded desert strata, Death Valley.

Eroded Strata. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful eroded desert strata, Death Valley.

Yes, I am still working the morning light on these beautiful eroded formations from Death Valley. (For anyone not already in the loop, I have posted quite a few photographs from this area recently.) The area is remarkable for the diversity of its formations — mostly water-eroded hills but also, here and there, a few rockier structures. The colors make it special, though. In most light they are quite subtle, but at the early and late edges of the day, when the color of the light is warmer, the colors are easier to see.

Timing was the trick for this photograph. I wanted the warm colors of the earliest possible light, but a hill behind my position blocked the light until the sun had risen just a bit. Perhaps you can still make out just a bit of the shadow remnant across positions of the bottom of the scene.

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 and Amazon.

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

Sky, Mountains, and Wash

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Sky, Mountains, and Wash
A dry wash, barren mountians, and morning desert sky.

Sky, Mountains, and Wash. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dry wash, barren mountians, and morning desert sky.

One of the things I always think about in desert landscapes is water. Not for the reason your are probably thinking — that it is because there is no water or that I’m thirsty because it is hot and dry. In fact, the reason is that evidence of water is almost everywhere in these dry places. This is one of the great ironies of desert terrain — it is so affected by the power of water and that effect is more visible because the landscape is barren and dry.

Consider this scene. There is almost nothing in it that doesn’t reflect the power of water. The foreground wash, while dry at the time of the photograph, is covered with patterns created by flowing water. Beyond, the low hills are smoothed by water and incised with gullies made by flowing water. Although those far mountains rose because of forces that are not directly about water, the shapes of the peaks and ridges are the result of, yet again, water. And in the sky we have clouds — more 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 and Amazon.

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.