Tag Archives: desert

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

Dunes and Sandstorm

April 26, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Towering clouds of wind-blown sand rise above desert sand dunes, Death Valley National Park

In the early afternoon, a bit to my surprise and somewhat to my consternation, after returning to camp from shooting in another area of the park I got my first hints of the upcoming afternoon and evening sand storm when I noticed an increasing number of dust devils out by the dunes and when blowing dust began to rise along the far eastern side of the Valley. Although these events can be photogenic (and a bit dangerous to camera gear!) they are not very pleasant to be in, a fact that I know from previous experience. However, given that the weather otherwise had been pretty boring – too much blue sky! – at least this promised something a bit out of the ordinary.

So as the afternoon wore on I headed out, driving toward the eastern side of the Valley. As I passed this classic view of what is probably the most famous set of dunes in the Valley, large and thick dust clouds were rising behind the dunes. Oddly, there wasn’t all that much sand blowing on these dunes – just behind them on lower dunes farther north and east. So I paused to use the long lens to isolate the dunes, with their sparse plants, in the afternoon light with clouds of blowing sand mostly obscuring the peaks of the Grapevine Mountains in the Amargosa Range.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Cottonwood Trees and Sandstone Towers, Morning

April 22, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cottonwood trees grow in Courthouse Wash with sandstone towers in morning light, Arches National Park

This is not exactly an iconic spot at Arches National Park, a place that is overflowing with icons. Very early on this morning we had engaged in icon photography, from a location near the top of a hill that provided a truly panoramic perspective on huge swathes of the park and from which I had photographed beautiful sandstone structures in the first light and the backlit, haze-filled vista looking toward the La Sal Mountains. We finished there and started to move on, having only vague ideas about what to photograph next, but knowing that if we kept our eyes open we could hardly avoid finding other subjects.

Descending into a wash to cross a stream bed, we came upon a large number of cottonwood trees lining the waterway. These trees were just beginning to transition to their brilliant fall colors, so we stopped. At first I dropped into the wash and made some close up photographs of the leaves themselves, along with some close shots of trees against sky and the nearby sandstone cliffs. Finishing with that I climbed back up to the roadway and there in front of me was another row of colorful trees where the creek emerged from under a bridge, and beyond that some of the same towers that I had earlier photographed from their far side now appeared almost back-lit and with a rim of morning light along their left sides.

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

Dusk Sandstorm, Desert Mountains

April 17, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Strong desert winds whip up a dusk sandstorm below the Grapevine Mountains, Death Valley National Park

To look at many photographs – including my own – of places like Death Valley, a viewer unfamiliar with the desert might begin to imagine a place of clear skies (with appropriate beautiful clouds), brilliant sun, intense colors, flowers, plants, and much more. While all of those things can be found in the desert, the fact that they are often more the exception than the rule may at least partially account for their popularity as photographic subjects. Yes, I have seen stunningly beautiful and colorful sunrises and sunsets, while standing in quiet and still air and in comfortable temperatures. However, I have also experienced rain, snow, very powerful winds, sand and dust storms, intense cold, nearly debilitating heat, and more.

This photograph was made during some of the less-than-lovely conditions that are quite common at this time of year, namely very strong winds and the resulting sand storm. Near the middle of the day I had caught my first glimpses of sand/dust rising up into the sky from some nearby dunes. Having been through this before, I was not fooled by the fact that the air remained almost completely still at my location at that time – and it wasn’t long at all until the winds become more general and began to lift sand and dust into the air across the entire end of the valley and then carry clouds of this material northward. I cannot say that I enjoy being in such conditions at all. Sand gets into everything, stuff that isn’t tied down blows away, breathing and opening your eyes can be a challenge. (Later, when I returned to camp in the darkness, I couldn’t face the idea of breaking out the camp stove and trying to cook and eat in the strong winds… so I wimped out and went to the restaurant at Stove Pipe Wells!) But as uncomfortable as these conditions can be, they are also visually special and impressive, so I headed out to the far side of the Valley, figuring that I might be able to shoot back into and across the sand storm while remaining on its edge. I shot through the late afternoon and continued as the sun set, leaving behind the murky, dust-filled atmosphere that shrouded everything. As twilight came on, the winds shifted, and dust clouds that had been blowing away from me began to move south down the valley towards me, obscuring the base of the Grapevine Mountains along the edge of Death Valley.

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

Backcountry Road, Desert Mountains

April 12, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Titus Canyon road twists through rugged desert landscape of Titanothere Canyon before climbing to its high point at Red Pass

I have driven through this desert back-country quite a few times during my visits to Death Valley National Park. This time was a bit different in two specific ways. First, in the past I have usually combined this route with an early morning shoot at a nearby location, shooting at this other location first, taking a breakfast break, and only then heading out on this drive. Consequently, I’ve always made the drive quite a bit later in the day when the light is much different – usually more hazy and with the sun higher in the sky. This time I started my day on this route, heading out just before dawn. Secondly, I made this a more leisurely passage. Sometimes in the past I have allowed myself to pass by too many portions of this region a bit too quickly, telling myself I had to move on in order to get to other things in time. This time I stopped a lot, and I often lingered at these stops for quite some time, poking around and looking for things to photograph that I might previously missed.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have sometimes found certain aspects of the desert terrain to be quite difficult to “see” as photographs. I think that the limited color palette has been one issue (often spanning the range from gray to tan!) as has the tendency for things to have a rather uniform appearance – often it is hard to find one central and prominent feature to focus on. In addition, for a photographer who has tended to work in places with water and greenery, the desert possess some different challenges. More than on some previous visits, this time I think I realized more that it is absolutely critical to slow down and adapt to the different pace and rhythms of this world. This time, rather than looking and deciding to move on, I stopped and looked some more. And as I did I began to see that there are more of the patterns and juxtapositions and forms that intrigue me than I had realized.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: desert

Cottonwood Trees and Sandstone Towers, Morning

Backcountry Road, Desert Mountains

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.