Tag Archives: desert

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

First Light, Southern Death Valley

January 12, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

As seen from Aguereberry Point, first dawn light spills across the lower end of Death Valley.

I have previously photographed from this location high in the Panamint Range and overlooking a vast portion of Death Valley National Park and its surroundings. The view stretches east to 11,000+’ peaks in Nevada and west to the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and great distances north and south to places and features that I cannot identify. My previous visits had all been late in the day, and I had often wondered what the location might be like at the start of the day. So, on this visit to Death Valley, a trip to Aguereberry Point before dawn was on my agenda.

As usual, I awoke well before dawn at my camp site back at Stovepipe Wells. (You can often tell if there are other photographers about – in the dark period an hour or more before sunrise you hear people quietly get up, quickly start their engines, and drive away.) I headed up into the Panamints and turned off at the start of the six-mile gravel road that goes to this point, and arrived just before the first colorful light began to light up the sky – and I was pleased to see that there were some interesting clouds. I have been fascinated by this view over the shoulder of a ridge dropping down toward the Valley above Trail Canyon, so I composed a photograph that juxtaposed this diagonal with the end of the Black Mountains across the valley and the light-filled atmosphere beyond where the very first sun was coming across lower Death Valley.

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

Ridge Above Tucki Wash, Dawn

January 9, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

First dawn light on a stratified ridge above Tucki Wash along the base of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

I spent a good portion of the week following New Year’s Day in Death Valley National Park. My goals were to earlier in the seasons when the days were shorter and more “good light” was available, to perhaps encounter cloudy skies from a passing weather system or two, and to both shoot some new subjects and shoot some familiar ones in somewhat different ways. I think that I succeeded with most of these goals, though those storm front clouds were elusive. (This is a very strange and troubling season for California weather. At a time when the Sierra are usually covered in winter snows… all of the high trans-Sierra passes are still open, and the east side of the range looks pretty much like it might normally look in, say, July.)

On one morning I decided to visit a favorite overlook high in the Panamint Range very early in the morning. I’ve shot here a number of times in the past, but always late in the day during sunset and dusk hours. While getting up an hour and a half before dawn to drive to such a place is always a bit of a challenge, at least the sunrise isn’t quite as early at this time of year. On the other hand, it is colder! (Those unfamiliar with the Death Valley seasons may think of it as an entirely hot and dry place, but it gets quite cold there this time of year.) When I got up the temperature down in the Valley at my camp site at Stovepipe Wells was in the thirties. Surprisingly, the temperature rose into the low fifties as I ascended into the mountains, and when I reached my goal at a bit above 6000′ it was no colder than the Valley at this hour.

I arrived before dawn, but just as the pre-dawn light show was beginning. On this morning I had perhaps the best clouds of the entire trip, and they lit up shortly after I arrived and got my equipment ready. (Photos of that moment will likely come a bit later.) As the sun finally rose above the horizon the interesting light began to work its way down, starting with the higher peaks and then descending past the lower ridges to finally reach the Valley itself. This photograph shows the first light striking an unnamed (as far as I’ve been able to determine) spur ridge the projects eastward into the Valley from the massive bulk of Tucki Mountain. In the far distance are the low mountains and washes along the far side of the Valley, and the are also just beginning to pick up the first light.

Shooting in these rapidly evolving conditions that are not entirely predictable is more of an action sport than a sedate and contemplative experience, at least during the first minutes of light as it works its way across and down the landscape, often surprising me by showing up in places I had not thought to look. At one point I had photographed the cloud-filled sky but lamented a bit that the mountains below that shot were a bit dark and drab. I look away for a moment and when I looked back this intense and saturate light had hit those very mountains… so I turned and quickly began to photograph them.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Crumbling Ghost Town Ruins, Evening

December 8, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light in the crumbling ruins of an old mining ghost town near Death Valley National Park, California.

Rhyolite is a Nevada ghost town not far from Death Valley National Park. (The bit of distant ridge seen through the “windows” of the structure is probably inside the park.) The story of Rhyolite is interesting, and not all that different from what happened in many other “boom and bust” towns in the desert and in other areas of the west. For a short time, thousands showed up to work in extractive industries, otherwise known as mines, and there was apparently an actual bustling city here. The old railroad station, ruins of bank buildings and a school, and the size of the area occupied by the town are evidence of this. But, as is virtually always the case, the boom couldn’t last and the departed inhabitant left some years ago, leaving the town to the elements.

This is a different sort of Rhyolite photograph than I might usually share. Most are made either at night or in the golden hour period near dawn. This one was made in the evening, when the direct sun was gone. (At this time of year the sun sets beyond a nearby ridge, so the direct light is gone well before sunset.) The soft, bluish evening light creates a different effect and, for me, makes the old buildings a bit more mysterious. Here I shot from outside one of the crumbling structures that is now filled with rocks. I don’t usually say much about what a photograph might mean (and often my photographs are simply what they are) but this one evoked for me some thoughts about the nature of time and the transitory effect of the human presence on the landscape. Not only has this building – which at one time must have had a floor, a roof, a nicely finished interior, and perhaps even comfortable furniture and perhaps art on the walls – decayed to the point where the line between its structure and the rocks of the natural landscape becomes obscure, but even the attempts to declare ones presence by means of graffiti have begun to crumble.

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

Detail, Red Cathedral

November 16, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I have recently posted other photographs made in the area of Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, including one other of this feature sometimes known as the Red Cathedral. It stands to the right of the more famous and recognizable parts of the Zabriskie Point Landscape where, for example, Manley Beacon is one of the most well-known visual icons in the park.

This detail photograph was made using a long lens very shortly after the first morning light had arrived on this feature. In my experience, getting good light on Red Cathedral can be a tricky thing. Parts of it face away from the sun and towards Death Valley and because its face is deeply fluted it can be tricky avoiding blocked shadows. But increasing exposure too much creates problems with saturated colors on the brightest strata that cut through its face. If you shoot it in the morning, light somewhat softened by some high clouds can be helpful, and that is what I had on this morning – the sun light is direct, but it is also filtered a bit by passing through broken clouds to the east.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: desert

First Light, Southern Death Valley

Ridge Above Tucki Wash, Dawn

Crumbling Ghost Town Ruins, Evening

Detail, Red Cathedral

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