Tag Archives: foot

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

Dunes, Eureka Valley, Morning

January 15, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning light and haze at the Eureka Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

This seems like a typical desert scene, right? Hot, arid, a bit of summer haze… It may look that way, but it was 28 degrees when I made this photograph!

At the tail end of my early January photography visit to Death Valley National Park I went north from the Ubehebe Crater area on the long gravel route up to the remote Eureka Valley Dunes, which are described as the tallest dunes in the United States, being nearly 700 feet tall. I decided to visit here at the end of my trip for several reasons – first, believe it or not, I had not been to this major feature in the park before. Second, because the trans-Sierra passes were still open in the strange weather year, by going out the north end of the park I figured I could shorten my drive back to the Bay Area a bit.

I arrived the night before, just in time to shoot a little bit as the last light came and went. Then I spent a very cold night “camping” in the back of my car. I was up reasonably early, but it was so cold that it was very hard to get out of the sleeping bag. Finally I did so, and I put on all my warm clothes and marched around the camping area trying to warm up a bit. Finally, after the morning sun topped the tall ridge to the east, the light arrived and my world began to warm up a bit. Eventually I packed up and started my trip back out to civilization. But first I wanted to stop a ways out in the valley and do some long shots back towards the dunes. This is one of those photographs, made from a ways down the road using a long lens.

Somewhat surprisingly, when I finally got back in my car a bit after 9:00 a.m. and long after the sun arrived, I finally thought to check the outside temperature on my car’s thermometer. At about 9:15, out in the valley, and in the sun… the temperature had finally risen… to 28 degrees!

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

Strolling Along Asilomar Beach, Sunset

December 29, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Walkers stroll along misty Asilomar Beach at sunset, Pacific Grove.

Although this might momentarily evoke thoughts of summers at the beach in sunny California… this was shot in the middle of December, and it was rather cold! (The hardy beach-walkers in shorts and bare feet might make you think otherwise.) During the better part of a week spent in the Carmel Valley area I had a number of opportunities to visit nearby coastal areas, and on this evening I had just enough time to make it over to this area at Asilomar State Beach before the sun set.

The winter surf gives this section of the coast a very different look than it has in the winter. In general, the surf is a lot rougher. Along much of this section of coast in Pacific Grove the edge of the water drops off quickly in rocky terrain, but here there is a beach and the beach becomes wider and less steep as it works its way south from this spot. The winter air was a bit hazy and the surf added some mist, creating this colorful glow right about the time of sunset. There were quite a few people out walking on the beach, many with their dogs, so I found an interesting composition shooting along the edge of the water and its reflected sky and then waited for individual walks to place themselves in interesting parts of the frame.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Marmot, Sierra Nevada

June 7, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A marmot emerges from winter conditions along the Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

Sometimes this is just a bit too easy. Almost anyone who has driven over Tioga Pass Road through the high country of Yosemite National Park has stopped at the famous overlook at Olmsted Point. From here you can look one direction and see the “back side” of Half Dome or look the other way and see Tenaya Lake and the procession of domes, ridges, and peaks beyond. But you can also see marmots up close. They hang out in the rocks right below the parking area and are less fearful of people than are normal high-country marmots. (I’m more familiar with the latter. Getting a good photograph of them is possible but very challenging.)

I stopped here on my drive over the pass on the first day it was open this year, and two marmots were active near where steps lead down toward a nearby dome. I simply sat down near by, kept very still, and then waited for them to appear where I could photograph them. They were very cooperative – and there will be more photographs of these “guys” to come.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, animal, rodent, marmot, wildlife, nature, fur, nose, eye, whiskers, foot, thick, brown, rock, face, teeth, oldsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, spring, stock

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

Death Valley Dunes, Morning

April 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Black and white photograph of the Death Valley Dunes in early morning light.

This photograph was made on a late-March morning when I had wandered out around the west end of Death Valley Dunes, near Stovepipe Wells, and entered them from close to the back side. I often approach the dunes this way in the morning since it means crossing much less deep sand and because fewer people tend to go this way. (The latter seems to be even more true now that the NPS has installed and “official” parking lot – with restrooms! – along the road near where most folks traditionally stopped to make their direct approach to the tallest dunes.)

I was in an area of lower dunes mostly shooting nearby sand textures and the long shadows cast by hills and plants in the very early light. However, it is hard to ignore the amazing curves and textures of the dunes as they rise towards the east, especially when they are side-lit like this. So I spent a few minutes pointing the long lens int that direction. When I made the photographs I was sort of disappointed that I couldn’t keep the footprints in the bright foreground sand out of the image, but in retrospect I think that they actually improve the photograph.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, dunes, sand, mesquite, folds, shadow, light, pattern, hill, peak, foot, prints, mountain, morning, stock

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: foot

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

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