Tag Archives: death valley

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

Red Boulder, Evening

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Red Boulder, Evening
A red boulder sits in a desert wash next to eroded mud hills in evening light

Red Boulder, Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A red boulder sits in a desert wash next to eroded mud hills in evening light

There are many things to like about the desert landscape, but in some places (including large areas in Death Valley National Park) I enjoy the fact that the landscape lies exposed to view, not covered or disguised by forest or even much in the way of plant life. I’m also continuously amazed by how obvious it is that water played a big role in shaping this Death Valley landscape — from the shorelines of ancient lakes, to boulder-strewn washes, to playas, the evidence is everywhere.

On this evening I had walked up a quiet — and not too visually exciting — slot canyon, and just before sunset I headed back the way I came and emerged into the wider valley of the wash and then headed towards the valley itself. Along the sides of this was were remnants of landscape modified by flowing water, including this large reddish rock, either deposited here by moving water or perhaps eroded out of the soil on site.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows

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Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows
A simply composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A simple composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

This is, obviously, a very simple, minimalist composition, made among the sand dunes of Death Valley National Park in the early spring.

We had wandered out onto the dunes near the end of the day, with a plan that allowed sufficient time to reach our goal while light remained, and even to do a bit of photography along the way. During the final few minutes of the day that light changes very quickly, with the color warming, the shadows deepening… and all of a sudden the light is gone.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | 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, Photographs: People In Landscape

Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge

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Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge
A hiker passes under a natural bridge in a Death Valley National Park canyon

Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A hiker passes under a natural bridge in a Death Valley National Park canyon

Timing seems to matter a lot when photographing and hiking in Death Valley. A whole range of factors come into play: distances between locations, times of day with best light, concerns about temperature, and so on. Over the years I have come up with the rough outlines of a daily schedule — which I frequently violate! — to adapt to the general patterns. I usually start the day with a pre-dawn and sunrise location, and then move to a second early to mid morning place. In many cases I take a midday break — when camping I use this to lounge around camp, eat, nap, or else to drive to more distant spots — Then there is often an afternoon location, followed by a sunset and early evening spot. The dawn and sunset angle is probably obvious to most readers, but what about the mid-morning and afternoon spots? These are often in canyons, which can be a bit too dark at the edges of the day, but which often get nice light a bit after sunrise and before sunset. Bonus benefit: they produce shade during hot parts of the day.

On this day we were using this plan, so we took a mid-morning hike up this narrow canyon, enjoying the opportunities to escape the direct sun and the beautiful light in the bottom of the canyon, as it bounced down from above and between the canyon walls. Here a hiker (my wife Patty) went ahead of me beneath this big natural bridge and headed on towards the mouth of the canyon not far beyond.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | 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, Blowing Sand

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Dunes with blowing sand in afternoon light, Death Valley National Park

Dunes, Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dunes with blowing sand in afternoon light, Death Valley National Park

For this photograph I returned to my file on as-yet-unfinished images from this year’s end-of-March visit to Death Valley. We were there for the better part of a week, visiting various areas of the park ranging from some quite popular spots (such as the dunes in this scene) to some that were a bit more off the beaten track and which required some effort to get to. The latter included some abandoned backcountry habitations and some dead-end roads into various canyons.

This scene is a fairly accessible one, though we came at it from a slightly different direction. We also arrived here in conditions that were a bit less than ideal, at least for walking into sand dunes, namely a lot of strong wind and blowing sand. I made the photograph when the sun was a bit lower in the sky, and its back-lit the dust-filled atmosphere and the little ribbons of blowing sand along the top ridges of the dunes.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | LinkedIn | Email

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