Tag Archives: califonria

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

Dunes and Distant Hills

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Dunes and Distant Hills, Death Valley
“Dunes and Distant Hills” — Death Valley sand dunes and distant desert hills in morning light.

The photograph’s title includes the words, distant hills.” But just how distant are they? From my position as I made this photograph, once I got to my vehicle, it would be a roughly 10 mile drive to those hills. Distances (and sizes) can be very deceptive in this park where we often experience huge vistas with features many miles away.

I made this photo near the end of the morning’s work. I had started before dawn, both to photograph in the soft predawn light and because I wanted to be in place for the arrival of the first direct sunlight. When that arrives, things transform very quickly. At first the color-saturated light hits only the high points, but as it increases the light works down onto and around other features.

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

Salt Flat Reflections

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Salt Flat Reflections, Death Valley
“Salt Flat Reflections” — The lower slopes of the Panamint Mountains are reflected in shallow water on Death Valley salt flats.

The experience of making this photograph was perhaps as enjoyable as the scene itself. I was up very early and walked out to the edge of the salt flat a bit more than a half hour before sunrise. From earlier scouting I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be. Out there next to the playa it was utterly silent and still, and I was the only person there to witness the morning light coming to the Panamint Range and then the valley.

It may seem counterintuitive to go to Death Valley to photograph a mountain range reflected in still water. But out in the valley, a good distance from the roadways, there is essentially always water. It may be in pools and slowly evaporating or, as here, it flows slowly all year long. The water in the photo is probably less than an inch deep, but that’s enough to produce a fine reflection.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Badlands Formations

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Badlands Formations, Death Valley
“Badlands Formations” — A pattern of badlands ridges and gullies in early morning light, Death Valley.

I don’t always photograph at Zabriskie Point — in fact, it was sort of an accident that I ended up there this February. But when I stop there I am always intrigued by the nearly limitless opportunities to photograph small details in the nearby badlands. There are two times of day when I like to photograph this subject. In the harsh midday light, the shadows can produce strong contrasts between the bright and dark elements. But early morning light softens the features, fills in the shadows, and sometimes introduces the reflected colors of the sky.

I was there, of course, very early — at least a half hour before sunrise, as the sky was just beginning to lighten. I did not plan to stop, but I thought I saw clouds that might produce sunrise color. So I abandoned my previous plans and stopped here. As the morning sun arrived on features to the west — the Valley and the Panamint Range — the soft light remained on these features below the overlook.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands Sunrise

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“Wetlands Sunrise” — Tule fog clears above Central Valley wetlands at dawn.

Despite experiencing a couple of brilliant sunrises on our New Year’s photo jaunt, I had not shared any intensely colorful sunrise photographs. It is time. We arrived here in foggy pre-dawn darkness on New Year’s Day, assembled our gear, and headed out on a network of levee roads through wetlands terrain. Before long we came to a spot where the fog had thinned and we had a clearer view to the east. We stopped and photographed the landscape and the intense pre-sunrise sky.

The experience of being out here before sunrise is profoundly removed from our day-to-day experience. Here time moves slowly or even seems to stop. The tule fog thins, leaving behind a faint, soft mist. Flocks of geese and cranes rise and circle, their cries echoing across the landscape. The light gradually increases in the eastern sky and here the outline of the distant Sierra Nevada is visible along the horizon.

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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