Tag Archives: face

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Rock Face, Pacific Coast Shoreline

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Rock Face, Pacific Coast Shoreline
Fractured layers of rock ascending above the edge of the ocean, Point Lobos.

Rock Face, Pacific Coast Shoreline. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Fractured layers of rock ascending above the edge of the ocean, Point Lobos.

This little peninsula at Point Lobos State Reserve couldn’t be more than a couple of hundred feet long, if that. I first visited it when I was a pre-teen and my family came here to explore tide pools. Later I took a camera and photographed here starting in my teenage years and continuing from time to time since then. By now you would think that I’d know every single rock, crevice, and layer. Yet when I go back I still see things I had missed before.

These rocks are on the inland side of the low peninsula that extends a short distance toward the entrance to a small cove. Even at high tide the rocks remain above water, though in heavy winter surf the waves can crash over this formation. It is a striking bit of rock, cut through by curving strata that briefly rise to the surface and then submerge again as they head inland. The material is what I presume to be a conglomerate, so there are many contrasting smaller embedded rocks. It is cut by fissures and cracks along the strata, and there is a seeming infinity of color and texture variations.

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.

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

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains

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Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains
Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

The light on this morning was interesting, a bit softer than expected due to thin clouds to the east that muted the colors and contrast a bit, plus a bit of the ubiquitous Death Valley haze. I made the photograph back in late January, so it isn’t a big surprise to see a dusting of snow on the higher peaks along the ridge of the Panamint Mountains.

The Panamint Mountains stand along the western side of Death Valley and are a remarkable range in many ways — their scale, the human history they contain, and their relative inaccessibility. While humans have, no doubt, appeared from time to time in this slice of landscape, it is a forbidding place and not one traversed easily. From Valley floor to the highest peaks is over 11,000′ feet, and the terrain between the two is immense and rugged.

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.

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

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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

Dune Plants, Morning Light

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Dune Plants, Morning Light
Light from the morning sun slants across the face of sand dunes to illuminate desert plants.

Dune Plants, Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light from the morning sun slants across the face of sand dunes to illuminate desert plants.

During times of what I consider to be the most interesting light in the dunes — right around sunrise and sunset — the scene changes with remarkable speed. These landscapes are so much about the color and angles of the light, and at these times both of those elements can change with great speed. One moment a subject might be dull and flat, but a moment later as a beam of light comes over a dune it may be spotlighted against shadows or its color may change drastically. I’m always surprised by how dynamic the photography process is in this supposedly static landscape!

I had earlier noticed this creosote bush and its small companion, but passed them by since they were in flat shadows. I turned my attention to something else further away, and when I looked at the nearer landscape a few minutes later I saw that the plants were in the sun and the light was touching the top of the dune in the upper part of the frame. I quickly turned my attention to this intimate landscape, and changed continuously as I made several exposures over what must have been no more than a minute or two.

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.

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

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

Young Trees, Zion Canyon

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Young Trees, Zion Canyon
Slender young trees growing at the base of the sandstone cliffs in Zion Canyon.

Young Trees, Zion Canyon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Slender young trees growing at the base of the sandstone cliffs in Zion Canyon.

The biggest and oldest cottonwood trees are some of the most impressive specimens in these canyons. They often tower high above their surroundings, and for this reason can be photographed against cliff faces or sky without interference from other plants. They fill sections of canyon bottoms throughout the Southwest and, for that matter, they are found in an amazing range of places in the west, from near desert locations to the flatlands of California’s Central Valley. However, their dominance of the plantscape can sometimes distract from other worthy subjects that do not shout their presence quite so loudly.

These young trees in Zion Canyon have a kind of grace and fragility that contrasts with the solid mass of those bigger cottonwoods. The branches of these trees are slender and they move in the breeze. (Which, by the way, adds a particular challenge to photographing them in very low light.) The soft canyon light reflecting down from far above almost makes them luminous.

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.

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