Tag Archives: death valley

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

Badlands Valley

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Badlands Valley
A small wash passes beneath badlands terrain in morning light, Death Valley National Park.

Badlands Valley. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A small wash passes beneath badlands terrain in morning light, Death Valley National Park.

There is a lot going on in this photograph of the Death Valley National Park landscape. Early morning light is coming from behind and to the left of the camera position and striking the eroded landforms from the side. Although it is sometime after dawn, it is early enough that the light still has a warm, post-sunrise color. All of the complex structures in the scene are interconnected — they all drain toward the desert wash at the bottom of the frame.

More than almost any other landscape that I know, the appearance of the desert changes radically depending on the direction, quality, and color of the light. I have sequences of photographs made over a half-hour period in which the transition is striking. At first, before dawn, the light is soft and blue-toned. At first light it may become intensely colorful if the sunrise cooperates. A half hour later the color fades toward that familiar desert midday harshness.

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

Creosote and Curving Dunes

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Creosote and Curving Dunes
Curving sand dunes rise beyond a few scattered creosote plants.

Creosote and Curving Dunes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Curving sand dunes rise beyond a few scattered creosote plants.

Well, this is becoming a bit ridiculous. More than once I thought I was at the end of this year’s Death Valley photographs. More than once I’ve been wrong, and a deeper dive into the files produced more images that seemed worthy of sharing. It appears that I’ve been wrong yet again! There’s this photograph, and I still see a few more that will get post-processing love in the near future.

We made a late afternoon visit to these dunes at the end of March. I felt that we’d need about an hour or an hour-and-a-half to photograph them leading up to sunset. The light looked promising in the afternoon and even as we arrived, but soon a thick bank of high clouds developed in the west. By “golden hour” the light was impaired by this development, though there were moments when the sun lined up with thinner clouds and the light took on a bit of a directional quality.

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

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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, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Desert Lunch

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Desert Lunch
G Dan Mitchell and Patricia Emerson taking a break from photography in the backcountry of Death Valley NP.

Desert Lunch. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell and Patricia Emerson take a break from photography in the backcountry of Death Valley NP.

This is not the kind of photograph I typically post here, but why not!? On our late-March visit to Death Valley National Park we headed up this backroad for the day after morning photography in another location. While midday photograph is sometimes possible in the desert, these aren’t typically the best hours from a visual perspective. So midday is a great time to explore, to scout locations, to travel to places for photography later in the day… and sometimes just to take care of camp business or hang out.

We drove slowly up this road, stopping along the way at various points of interest. (Despite the midday light, we did make some photographs along the route, too.) As so often in Death Valley, the road ends at the remnants of the historical mining era. We explored a bit and then it was time for a backcountry lunch. (It looks pretty meager, but it was good. And those oranges? It is a tradition to bring oranges from my trees on these winter and spring Death Valley trips.)

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.

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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Southern California

Dune Summit

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Dune Summit
“Dune Summit” — Sand slopes leading to the summit of tall sand dunes.

After sharing a lot of color photographs from Death Valley (along with one or two in monochrome), this one seemed to work best in black and white. It might seem counterintuitive to those who associate black and white with old-school “realism,” but monochrome often allows and even demands greater levels of “manipulation” than color and is even further removed from that illusive concept of realism. (Hint: The world is not monochromatic!)

Working in monochrome allowed me to produce a high key version of the subject, a layering of dune lines and curves leading toward the highest peak. Overall the image is rather light, but I was able to emphasize some of the darker textures, too. (Because the image is light, gray can almost imply black.)

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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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