Tag Archives: canyon

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

Toward the Valley

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Toward the Valley
Reflected light in a twisting desert canyon as it approaches Death Valley

Toward the Valley. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Reflected light in a twisting desert canyon as it approaches Death Valley

To walk into a canyon like this one from a huge valley such as Death Valley is to walk from an overwhelming, immense space into a smaller, more intimate place. In the canyons distances are often measured in feet rather than miles, and long distance views are most often cut off entirely. This is especially true when entering such canyons where the route often begins in a wide wash above the Valley, then constrict through the mouth of the canyon, and soon begins to wind back and forth in a serpentine manner between hills or cliffs.

The trip back out often seems to have a different feeling. It usually takes less time, partly due to the downhill slope and even more because one is now retracing familiar terrain rather than discovering it for the first time. In many cases, the closer one gets to the outlet of the canyon the more that signs of the valley below appear. The canyon walls become shorter, and views over the nearer walls being to reveal blue sky and distant mountains instead of more canyon walls. Before long the light changes and the route leaves the canyon confines and is again back in the huge, open space.

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

Hiker, Natural Bridge Canyon

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Hiker, Natural Bridge Canyon
Hiker passes beneath a thick natural bridge spanning a narrow Death Valley canyon

Hiker, Natural Bridge Canyon. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hiker passes beneath a thick natural bridge spanning a narrow Death Valley canyon

With the exception of a couple of very accessible and popular canyons, many Death Valley Canyons are not visited all that much. Even canyons that are a short distance from major iconic locations and roads are often uncrowded. Canyons that are more remote can be wonderfully lonely places, locations to find the solitude that the desert supplies in such abundance. They are magical places though, to be honest, if you have experienced the red rock sandstone canyons of the Southwest, many of the canyons of Death Valley are more subtle. The canyons are also an undeniable reminder of the tremendous role of water in forming this landscape, odd as that may seem in what is now a desert.

While many Death Valley sights are arguably at their best during or near the golden hour period around dawn and sunset, the canyons can be good a bit later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon. In fact, too close to the sunset/sunrise times and the canyons can be quite dark — perhaps too dark for most photography. But when the sun is a bit higher in the sky the light can strike upper canyon walls and bounce and diffuse down into canyon depths. This light can be soft, gentle, and take on the colors of the canyon rocks. You can see some of that light on the massive bridge that crosses this canyon, and if you look closely you may see a small hiker providing a sense of scale.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Winter Light, Granite And Snow

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Winter Light, Granite And Snow
Winter sunset light on a granite face and distant mountains fade into falling snow

Winter Light, Granite And Snow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sunset light on a granite face and distant mountains fade into falling snow

I spent the last week in Yosemite National Park, as an artist-in-residence sponsored by Yosemite Renaissance. (Thank you!) I stayed in the Wawona area and made the drive to the Valley every day. It was wonderful to have a full week in the park and, especially, in the Valley. I spend a lot of time in Yosemite, but most of it is in the high country during summer and into the beginning of fall, so having this unbroken block of time in winter was a special treat. Making it even better, I got some weather luck. Recently California has again been in drought conditions, and last month we had record high temperatures that often felt more like spring or even summer. But I arrived to find cold (at times very cold) conditions, and a series of weak cold fronts brought snow to the Valley.

If I recall correctly, I had spent much of this afternoon photographing in the eastern part of the Valley, and as the weather closed in the light there began to die. I finished up my work in that area and prepared to depart for Wawona, but leaving enough to time to stop along the way should interesting light appear. In fact, further to the west the skies were trying to clear, and intermittent light made its way through breaks in the clouds to spotlight various areas. I stopped here and waited a few minutes, at which point almost the very last light of the day cut across the edge of the El Capitan monolith as the snow storm closed in on the upper Valley.

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

Mud Hills, Evening Light

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Mud Hills, Evening Light
Mud hills near the mouth of a Death Valley canyon

Mud Hills, Evening Light. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mud hills near the mouth of a Death Valley canyon

On this evening I had taken a “random” walk into a canyon that I hadn’t visited before. It isn’t a tremendously popular place, so I had its narrow confines almost completely to myself, even though I wasn’t all that far from some rather popular Death Valley locations. The canyon itself was not the most visually striking Death Valley location I have visited, though its narrow dimensions and solitude were notable. I reached a blockage some distance up the canyon, and since the hour was getting late I decided to reverse course and head back out for early evening light.

As is so often the case with these canyons, I emerged from the dark and narrow canyon onto a broad wash that expanded onto an alluvial fan littered with boulders, cut by water courses, and open to more distant views. Golden hour light was beginning, so there was a lot to photograph, and it took me quite a while to work my way down from here toward the trailhead. As I walked, the surrounding hills became lower and more rounded as they gradually merged with the alluvial slopes that tend to line the valley. As the light faded with the already behind hills to the west, I made a final stop to photograph these folded forms, glowing in the filtered and soft light of early evening.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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