Tag Archives: geology

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

Badlands Detail

Image Leave a comment
Badlands Detail, Death Valley
“Badlands Detail” — Photograph of details of badlands gullies in soft morning light, Death Valley National Park.

The pink color of the formations in this photograph was a big part of its appeal. It was early morning, and the direct sunlight had worked its way back across the valley to the tops of ridges nearly, and the light’s warm color washed over the nearly-white material of these ridges and valleys. Again, the Death Valley landscape, which can be rather subtly colored, served as a canvas for the effects of colorful light.

The location is at Zabriskie Point — I’m not giving away any secrets by mentioning this well-known location. It is one of the two or three most popular places in the park to view the sunrise. It was an unanticipated turn of events that brought me to this location, and I was originally going somewhere else when I set out before dawn.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Badlands Formations

Image Leave a comment
Badlands Formations, Death Valley
“Badlands Formations” — A pattern of badlands ridges and gullies in early morning light, Death Valley.

I don’t always photograph at Zabriskie Point — in fact, it was sort of an accident that I ended up there this February. But when I stop there I am always intrigued by the nearly limitless opportunities to photograph small details in the nearby badlands. There are two times of day when I like to photograph this subject. In the harsh midday light, the shadows can produce strong contrasts between the bright and dark elements. But early morning light softens the features, fills in the shadows, and sometimes introduces the reflected colors of the sky.

I was there, of course, very early — at least a half hour before sunrise, as the sky was just beginning to lighten. I did not plan to stop, but I thought I saw clouds that might produce sunrise color. So I abandoned my previous plans and stopped here. As the morning sun arrived on features to the west — the Valley and the Panamint Range — the soft light remained on these features below the overlook.

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: Southern California

The Manifold, Detail

Image Leave a comment
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.

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: Southern California

Badlands, In Shadow

Image Leave a comment
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.