Tag Archives: death valley

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

Creosote Bushes, Dunes At First Light

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Creosote Bushes, Dunes At First Light
First light on sand dunes and a pair of creosote bushes, Death Valley

Creosote Bushes, Dunes At First Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light on sand dunes and a pair of creosote bushes, Death Valley

I made this photograph during that short, beautiful period when the day’s first light arrives in the desert. I had spotted these clumps of creosote plant earlier, when the light was still pre-dawn blue. I made a few photographs at that point which, of course, have an entirely different feeling than this one. I think I had begun to move on to another subject when I decided to instead stick with this one as the sun rose behind distant mountains. The first light struck the top of dunes to my left (not visible in this photograph), and as the angle of the light increased with the rising sun it began to sweep across nearer dunes beyond the plants.

The color contrasts here are, I think, quite something, even with the overall soft quality of the scene and the light. That one band of dune just beyond the plants is very colorful in the early direct light. Beyond the sun is just beginning to strike a few other dunes. In the far distance the hills and washes at the east side of Death Valley are still in the blue morning twilight shadows. The creosote plants are still in shade — but not for long — and silhouetted against the more colorful den.

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, 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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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

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.
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.

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

Dunes, Light And Shadow

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Dunes, Light And Shadow
A curving interaction between light and shadow on Death Valley sand dunes

Dunes, Light And Shadow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A curving interaction between light and shadow on Death Valley sand dunes

The visual patterns of desert sand dunes can quickly become a sort of photographers’ playground. While we often may go out looking for individual subjects and composition (the “perfect photograph of that mountain”), once in the sand dunes there are likely to be photographs almost everywhere we look. The subjects are remarkably varied, ranging from the smallest to the largest, from nearly pure abstraction to literal depictions, including human elements or not, and changing over the course of the day and in evolving light. Topping another wave of sand or curving around into a new hollow can bring a whole new set of possible photographs.

I made this photograph on a morning when we walked out into a lonely section of dunes before sunrise. I generally tend to photograph more “literal” subjects in that softer pre-sunrise illumination. That softness quickly disappears with the sunrise most days, and I begin to look for more stark compositional contrasts. Here I was attracted but the abstract shape of the sand that was struck by the light, and the suggestively organic shapes of the curve.

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.