Tag Archives: death valley

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light

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Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light

Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on variously angled curving ridges below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park.

This is another in the series of photographs of details of the geology surrounding Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park – for the most part the interesting patterns of folded and twisted earth rather than the grand epic landscape to the west.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: zabriskie, point, fold, gully, angles, wash, ravine, morning, light, sun, death valley, national park, california, usa, desert, dry, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, shadow, geology, colors, shape, form, hill

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Dust Storm Near Tucki Mountain

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Dust Storm, Death Valley

Dust Storm Near Tucki Mountain. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A few people asked me if I got any photographs of the dust storm I experienced on the final day of my spring Death Valley trip. Yes, I did get a few – though photography in a raging dust storm is no easy thing. (I did not make any photographs once I was inside the actual storm – I just wanted to get the heck out of there!) Here the photograph shows the last bit of clear sky as I was about to enter the cloud across Death Valley from Tucki Mountain, which rises above Stovepipe Wells.

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

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

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Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on the round folds of earth in Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley National Park, California.

From my point of view, at least based on my one visit there, one of the most interesting features in Twenty Mule Team Canyon has to be the extensive areas of colorful “folded earth” cut with gullies formed by runoff water. This area is hundreds of feet across and extends for a good distance from right to left as well. In flat light the color can be very pastel, but in the warm early morning light the subtle colors become more intense and visible. Here, shortly after sunrise, the light is skimming across the tops of the small hills, lighting them but allowing the gullies to remain shaded.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: twenty, 20, mule, team, canyon, geology, form, gully, fold, hill, round, color, morning, light, shape, pattern, death valley, national park, california, usa, scenic, landscape, travel, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

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Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Panorama of early morning sun illuminating hills in lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon with Death Valley beyond – Death Valley National Park, California.

This is a view of Death Valley that I did not know about until I shot in Twenty Mule Team Canyon last week. As I was working on photographing the nearby folded formations of the earth I happened to look down-canyon in time to see this wonderful light hitting the tops of the hills at the lower portion of the canyon with the rest of Death Valley and the Panamint Range beyond. This photograph is a stitch of two 21MP photographs from the 5DII. Although I exposed them differently I was able to compensate in post and I think the blend is pretty seamless.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sunrise, dawn, morning, light, illuminate, hills, formations, geology, 20, twenty, mule, team, canyon, lower, death valley, national park, california, usa, panorama, wide, salt, flats, panamint, mountain, range, sky, shadow, vista, landscape, scenic, travel, stock