Tag Archives: desert

Crater Wall Detail (vertical)

Crater Wall Detail (vertical)
“Crater Wall Detail (vertical)” — Eroded strata of a Death Valley crater wall.

We ran into a photographer friend in Death Valley, and she reminded me of this location. It is a surprising and unusual geological formation, but one that I have never felt too enthusiastic about photographing. But her enthusiasm persuaded me to go there and try again. We got sidetracked by a different subject nearby, but we finally made it here late in the day.

The late arrival may have been fortuitous, since the sun had dropped behind nearby mountains, and much of the filtered light came from other bright clouds that were still sunlit. This softer light filled in the shadows of this rugged formation.


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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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Imaginary Landscape — A Boundary

Imaginary Landscape — A Boundary
“Imaginary Landscape — A Boundary” — An imaginary desert landscape.

What are we seeing here? I don’t want to say too much, since I’d rather than you mostly respond to what it appears to be. The image is derived from a desert “intimate landscape” — a photograph encompassing a very small portion of the landscape. Perhaps you can see the brighter areas on the right as being related to stars or galaxies, and the jagged lines might suggest electricity. It is up to you!

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Sand Verbena Flowers

Sand Verbena Flowers
“Sand Verbena Flowers” — Close-up photograph of sand verbena flower clusters.

This photograph is a bit of an exercise in changing my perspective. If you were in Death Valley or other places where sand verbena grows and blooms, you might first notice a pinkish-purple color out on a gravel slope somewhere. Getting closer you would see large, sprawling individual plants with large pink-purple “flowers.” But a closer look reveals that these are actually globular clusters of many small flowers.

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Playa and Plants — Imaginary Landscape

Playa and Plants — Imaginary Landscape
“Playa and Plants — Imaginary Landscape” — An imaginary desert landscape with dry mud and spring plants.

This is another of the “imaginary landscape” photographs. They all begin with the actual landscape, but then I treat the images freely, modifying them in a variety of ways, though always with the the original source material at least somewhat identifiable.

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