Tag Archives: clouds

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

Lonely Road, Winter Sunrise

Image 1 Comment
Lonely Road, Winter Sunrise
Colorful sunrise clouds spread across the winter sky above a road through desert mountains, Death Valley National Park

Lonely Road, Winter Sunrise. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful sunrise clouds spread across the winter sky above a road through desert mountains, Death Valley National Park

It is possible to find solitude, even in national parks, though it may take a bit of effort. I was completely alone in this remarkable place to experience an utterly beautiful sunrise. All it took was getting up an hour and a half before sunrise, heading up into desert mountains in the predawn darkness when the temperature barely cleared twenty degrees, and driving to the end of a gravel road that crosses the crest of a desert mountain range.

I made the photograph on the same morning that I made several others that I have recently shared. The sky and the light were astonishing — broken lines of thin clouds spread across the sky before dawn, and they lit up in the first light, casting pink light across the 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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Panamint Sky

Image Leave a comment
Panamint Sky
Sunrise sky above the Panamint Mountains.

Panamint Sky. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise sky above the Panamint Mountains.

This morning, about eight years ago, was one of those that reminds me why it is worth getting up in the darkened driving long distances to arrive at a location before the sun rises. I arrived along the summit of the Panamint Mountains very early, and shortly it became clear that the sky might do something very special. A layer of broken clouds was spread across the sky, perfectly positioned to be illuminated by the first sunlight, and to my north the lines of clouds converged above the horizon.

Several years ago I shared another photograph from this morning — if I recall correctly it was a panoramic format image of the same clouds, separated from this on in time by perhaps a minute. That is, of course, enough to change things considerably in this evolving light.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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, Photographs: Nevada

Amargosa Sky, Morning

Image Leave a comment
Amargosa Sky, Morning
“Amargosa Sky, Morning: — Early morning sky above Amargosa Valley and the Amargosa Range mountains.

Although this photograph is from eight years ago, I recall this morning as if it were last week. One day during my annual spring sojourn in Death Valley I decided to get up early and drive out of the park to the east, passing though the triangle of the park that extends into Nevada to get to one of the many ghost town sites in this region. The place gets a fair number of visitors — to the extent that it has more recently been fenced off to protect it — but on this morning I was just about the only person there.

Although I was there mainly to photograph the decaying structures, the remnants of this town sit on the edge of a vast expanse of open desert landscape. This view looks across the wide Amargosa River Valley toward the Amargosa Range that runs along a good part of the eastern boundary of the park. The light was stunning just after sunrise, and thin clouds were visible for a while until stronger light made them less visible as the sun rose higher.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Sky, Mountains, and Wash

Image Leave a comment
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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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