Tag Archives: dune

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

Plants, Dunes, and Sand Storm

Image Leave a comment
Plants, Dunes, and Sand Storm
A plant-covered sand dune with a sand storm in the background.

Plants, Dunes, and Sand Storm. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A plant-covered sand dune with a sand storm in the background.

Perhaps this photograph is about the sand dunes. Perhaps it is about the raging sand storm. Perhaps it is about the plants on the small dunes in the foreground. Or about all of the above. The conditions were, by objective standards, pretty atrocious. A gale was whipping up the sand and blowing it toward the dunes and then up into the sky. You might wonder why the foreground seems relatively clear. The wind was blowing from slightly behind me and most of the dust was being picked from the dunes and blown away from me.

About two months earlier I had photographed in almost this exact spot, and the green transition of these plants on this visit was striking — back at the end of January they looked very dry. But now, even though there has not been all that much rain in this part of Death Valley in the interim, the seasonal greening was underway.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Southern California

Sand Patterns

Image Leave a comment
Sand Patterns
Varied sand patteres on a fold in dunes at Death Valley National Park.

Sand Patterns. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Varied sand patterns on a fold in dunes at Death Valley National Park.

One of the myths about sand dunes is that their features are in motion, being blown across the landscape by winds. The fact that so many features — ripples, waves — remind us of water reinforces the illusion. But here the fluidity is of a largely static sort, and these features tend to remain in much the same place over long periods of time.

The reasons that dunes come into existence begin to be obvious when ou get to know them. They tend to be in windy places where natural features obstruct, divert, and slow the winds, causing them to drop their load of airborne dust and sand. While these broad features are easy to understand, I remain mystified by the smaller scale features like those seen in this “intimate landscape” photograph — the waves, ridges, valleys, drop-offs that also tend to remain fixed.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Southern California

Angle of Repose

Image 2 Comments
Angle of Repose
Sand dune patterns, Death Valley National Park.

Angle of Repose. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sand dune patterns, Death Valley National Park.

This “intimate landscape” is a sand dune vignette made in a specific place but which could be found almost anywhere. A close look may reveal some details that desert and sand aficionados may find interesting. The large patterns are typically found on one side of dunes where sand blown over the top of the dune collects below. The smaller “ripples” are a common feature of dunes, too, and these are completely undisturbed since the dunes are somewhat remote. Looking even closer may reveal some tinier patterns and tracks across the face of the sand.

The term “angle of repose” refers to the steepest angle at which a material, such as this sand, might collect without collapsing or sliding downhill. It is also the title of a wonderful Wallace Stegner novel, and that is where I first encountered the term. Fans of the history of the American West, especially the part that came after initial explorations, and especially those who have roots in the west may enjoy the novel as much as I did, with its connections to places and types of people that I know from my own experience.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Southern California

Interrupted Dune #2

Image 1 Comment
Interrupted Dune #2
Interrupted curve of sand at a Death Valley dune.

Interrupted Dune #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Interrupted curve of sand at a Death Valley dune.

If you follow my posts and think that this looks familiar… you are right! It is a vertical (or “portrait”) format version of a subject that I shared earlier in a companion “landscape” orientation version. When a subject can work either way (albeit with different effects) it is my practice to capture both vertical and horizontal versions. I suppose one reason is that it relieves me of the worry that I might have picked the “wrong” option. It also puts off a final choice until later. In addition, it provides me with two visual options for the image, something that is occasionally useful. (For example, book and magazine covers tend to use vertical formats.)

Superficially this version looks a lot like the other one, though the taller and narrower format may give greater weight to the curve running between the bottom and top of the image and less weight to the darker portions of the scene. However, if you were to look at them side-by-side you would notice that the textures in the sand are subtly different, and that that colors have also shifted a bit. This photograph, like quite a few that I make in situations like this, was made in rapidly changing light conditions, and in the brief interval between the two photographs the scene changed visibly.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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