Tag Archives: erosion

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

Morning Clouds Above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point

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Morning Clouds Above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point
Morning Clouds Above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point

Morning Clouds Above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning clouds fill the sky above the Manifold at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Recently I’ve been going over some of my Death Valley photographs, and as I do so I discover a few that “missed the cut” the first time around but which I kind of like now when I see them a few years later. This photograph was made in 2007, on a spring morning when beautiful clouds filled the sky above Zabriskie Point and Death Valley. I have versions of this photograph in both black and white and color – I like both, though the effect is quite different. (I’ll post the color version as soon as tomorrow.)

I’ve referred to the striking central feature of the “badlands” above Gower Wash – the hill with the curving gullies and the darker material along the top – as “the Manifold” for a few years. I know I saw this label applied to the feature somewhere, but I cannot find the source now. In any case, it seems deserving of its own name, and “the Manifold” works for me.

One more observation… I have written elsewhere about my attitude toward photographing iconic scenes – an Zabriskie Point is certainly iconic! It is a bit of a long, complicated story, but this photograph illustrates part of my philosophy. I will not always bother to stop and photograph such a site, having seen many beautiful mornings (and a few evenings) there. But I do watch for special or unusual conditions, and when they occur I may well head to an icon like Zabriskie to try to make a photograph that is unlike the usual images.

Since I am in the process of reviewing many Death Valley photographs, don’t be too surprised if a few more older photos from that location show up here soon.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010

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Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 - July 10, 2010
Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 - July 10, 2010

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of patterns in eroded shoreline rocks, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Another photograph of eroded rock patterns near the water not far from Weston Cove at Point Lobos. Here the top layer of reddish rock has worn away in places, leaving a much lighter layer of what I guess is some kind of sandstone below. I’m no geologist, but this section of seashore has fascinating rock formations on the small and large scale where many strata have been exposed by the surf. In some places there a big gobs of conglomerate rock, composed of many smaller rocks “glued” together. In other places very thin layers lie one on top of the other and they have been partially uncovered and worn away by the surf, creating amazing patterns.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/6 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, carmel, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, coast, shore, sea, ocean, pacific, scenic, travel, nature, geology, texture, form, shape, rock, erosion, sand, stone, sedimentary, landscape, detail

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

Erosion Patterns in Afternoon Light, Zabriskie Point

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Erosion Patterns in Afternoon Light, Zabriskie Point
Erosion Patterns in Afternoon Light, Zabriskie Point

Erosion Patterns in Afternoon Light, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Slightly overcast afternoon light on erosion patterns in the Gower Gulch area of Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

After posting such a long string of close views of the hills at Zabriskie Point… it is starting to become difficult to say much original and new about the photographs in this series! This one was made rather late in the afternoon – about 4:00 p.m. – when the light is usually still too harsh and bright for most photography here. Fortunately, some high and thin clouds diffused the light a bit – but still didn’t take the light too far in the soft direction.

It perhaps goes without saying that this another in my series of long-lens studies of small elements of the large and iconic scene at this location. I’ve photographed this particular bit of folded geology before, and I’m still interested in the combination of soft, almost organic shapes and the crazy patterns of lines and shapes heading every which way. From lower left to upper right the lines shift almost completely.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/60 second

keywords: gower, gulch, zabriskie, point, erosion, gully, ridge, hill, crack, dirt, curve, fold, geology, shadow, light, afternoon, overcast, diffuse, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, detail, stock

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

Erosion Patterns, Morning Light – Zabriskie Point

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Erosion Patterns, Morning Light - Zabriskie Point
Erosion Patterns, Morning Light - Zabriskie Point

Erosion Patterns, Morning Light – Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sea of pastel erosion patterns in diffused early morning light below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Off to the left of the “classic views” from Zabriskie point is a series of hills and gullies extending back to the south-southeast which catches the early morning cross-light as the sun comes up. Depending upon the lighting conditions the color of these hills can range from white-gray, through golden, to reddish, and almost black, with bluish tones in some cases. The patterns run every which way as the gullies draining these hills ultimately head to Gower Wash and then into Death Valley. In the foreground of this scene is a solitary ridge that has the remnant of an older layer of darker stratified material.

On the morning when I made this photograph the sun had just come up over the hills to the east, but clouds in that direction were partially blocking the light which quickly changed between full dawn sun and light filtered by the clouds. At the moment I made this exposure a bit of the more direct light hit the foreground strata fragment and a few spots further away, but softer cloud-filtered light fell on many parts of the scene.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 105mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/100 second

keywords: death, valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, spring, nature, zabriskie, point, morning, light, erosion, pattern, hill, geology, valley, crack, gully, rock, layer, strata, diagonal, landscape, scenic, travel, desert, southern, pastel, stock