Tag Archives: death valley

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sand Waves – Death Valley Dunes at Dusk

1 Comment

Sand Waves - Death Valley Dunes at Dusk

Sand Waves – Death Valley Dunes at Dusk. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of “sand waves” at dusk on the transverse dunes in front of the main Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park. Photographed after sunset as the last light began to fade.

A couple notes on the photograph… I had just barely arrived and set up camp when the light started to turn as sunset approached. My brother and I realized that we needed to “go now!” if we were to catch the light, so we jumped in the vehicle and had just enough time to get to this spot and pull over at the side of the road. There was no time to head out onto the dunes so I put the long lens (400mm) on the camera and approached the subject it a different way than I might have otherwise.

keywords: color, photo, photography, sand, waves, desert, plants, pink, blue, sunset, dusk, death valley, national park, dunes, funeral mountains, stock, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, california, usa, footprints

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Leave a comment

Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Color photograph of Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains – Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park. Photographed very early on a spring morning as the sun rose high enough above the dunes to cast these vary shallow shadows across the slope.

keywords: color, photo, photography, death valley, dunes, funeral, mountains, national park, california, usa, sand, morning, shadow, desert, morning, landscape, travel, scenic, stock, stovepipe, stove, pipe, wells

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Leave a comment

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada – starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

keywords: rhyolite, nevada, ghost, town, building, columns, windows, doors, steps, stairs, cement, concrete, wide angle, sidewalk, desert, first, light, dawn, morning, sunrise, abandoned, ruins, walls, usa, historic, mines, mining, death valley, national park, blm, bureau of land management, scenic, travel, stock, landscape

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Leave a comment

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

keywords: death valley, national park, sand, dunes, ripples, waves, curves, desert, funeral, mountains, sky, clouds, hills, stovepipe wells, california, usa, peak, footprints, steps, morning, light, stock, scenic, travel, landscape