Tag Archives: formation

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

The Manifold, Detail

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The Manifold, Detail, Death Valley
“The Manifold, Detail” — Close photograph of a section of the Manifold formation, Death Valley National Park.

Even though this photograph only shows a very small area of a much larger formation, there’s a good chance that those of you familiar with Death Valley will recognize it. The feature is called “The Manifold,” and it features ribs of soft, light-colored material stretching out from beneath a layer of darker material. For this photograph I narrowed the angle of view to only include a very small part of the larger feature.

The geology of these “badlands” features some very soft material that is easily eroded. The different colors were laid down as layers a very long time ago, and since then they have been tilted and distorted. It is hard to imagine a better place to visualize the effect that flowing water has on this desert landscape.

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.

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

Badlands, In Shadow

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Badlands, In Shadow, Death Valley
“Badlands, In Shadow” — Badlands formations in early morning shadows, Death Valley.

This is another is a series of photographs I made one morning at Zabriskie Point during my late February visit to Death Valley National Park. Previously I mentioned that I rarely photograph at this spot any more — after a couple of decades it takes some pretty special conditions to persuade me to join the crowd there. I stopped when pre-dawn clouds suggested the potential for a very colorful sunrise. Alas, that did not happen, but I did get some interesting light before the direct sunlight came to the formations at Zabriskie.

I’m a big fan of photographing in subdued light and especially in shade and when reflected light fills in the shadows. That is what we see here. The morning sunlight was striking nearby subjects, but it had not yet penetrated down into this little valley. The light produced a kind of soft glow and it picked up colors from the sky and reflected light from nearby prominences that were in the sun. Once again, the Death Valley landscape is a sort of canvas that is colored by light.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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: Sky, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Mountains and Sky

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Desert Mountains and Sky, Death Valley
“Desert Mountains and Sky” — Evening clouds form above desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

First day photographic subjects in Death Valley are often a bit tricky for me. It takes me about eight hours to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and when I arrive I have to find a campsite and set up my tent and other gear. By the time I finish it is typically getting close to the time when normal people would be eating dinner. Tempting, no? But I shift into “photographer mode,” and head out to find something to photograph — I’ll eat after dark when I return to camp.

While I do photograph on the first evening of these trips, I don’t generally travel that far to do it. This first evening was kind of lazy. I drove fifteen minutes to an area I know, and there I walked to the top of a nearby hill to check out the view, including these clouds. The sky is a fascinating subject in Death Valley. While big dramatic rain storms are rare (but not impossible) sometimes atmospheric conditions are affected by weather fronts that fall apart over the desert, leaving broken, dissipating clouds like these — and they can be quite dramatic.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Three Cranes in Formation

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Three Cranes in Formation
Three lesser sandhill cranes against blue winter sky above California’s Central Valley.

Three Cranes in Formation. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Three lesser sandhill cranes against blue winter sky above California’s Central Valley.

As I posted this I was considering the title… and it occurred to me that “Three More Cranes” might be the appropriate modification, considering how many crane photographs I have been sharing! And I’m not done — there are still a few more in the queue. Think of it as a sort of end-of-season (at least in Central California) crane fest, with the photographs coming from my final two visits to local crane areas this winter.

Getting a good, close photograph of cranes in flight is more of a challenge than you might think. On a day like this one, the cranes are everywhere, and they are quite active. But a whole bunch of things have to fall into place for it to work, and most of them are decidedly not under the photographer’s control. There must be some sort of good light, and the cranes must be flying in a good direction relative to that light. Their flight must take them near (and preferably over) my position, but cranes are notoriously finicky about flying directly over people. The individual birds must align themselves in aesthetic ways — not blocking one another or creating awkward shadows, wings in an interesting position, yet close enough to one another to fit in the frame. The truth is that a day of photography may not produce a photograph with the birds aligned as beautifully as this trio.

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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