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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Titus Canyon

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Titus Canyon
Titus Canyon

Titus Canyon. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park, California.

This photograph was made on a trip to Death Valley a couple of years ago – I pulled it up recently while working on a post about photographing Death Valley at my web site. Titus Canyon is known for the lower section which is a very narrow and deep slot canyon with a road through it. The road is a spectacular drive, starting east of Death Valley near Rhyolite and Beatty, crossing the mountain range along the east side of Death Valley, descending steep canyons on the west side, passing though the very deep and narrow lower section, and finally emerging into Death Valley. I regard the route as one of the most spectacular drives that I’ve seen – though it isn’t an easy drive. You’ll want a vehicle with good ground clearance, 4WD is advised, and those unnerved by steep and winding gravel roads that sometimes pass across very exposed areas might think twice about driving it. (As of this writing, Titus Canyon has been closed by flooding during the recent southern California storms.)

This photograph was made in the lower portion of the canyon, but above the slot canyon section near where the canyon emerges into Death Valley. The mountains seen in the distance are on the other side of Death Valley and far to the west.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Grapevines at Sunset, Falkner Winery

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Grapevines at Sunset, Falkner Winery
Grapevines at Sunset, Falkner Winery. Temecula, California. May 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Grapevines photographed against the sunset sky at the Falkner Winery near Temecula, California.

This photo is related to some of what I described in the previous post – my daughter’s recent wedding, which took place at this winery in Temecula. In early May we were there to make some arrangements, and in the evening I wandered off for a moment (as the father of the bride is prone to do… ;-) and photographed the new vines of the nearby vineyard late in the day.

keywords: grape, vines, leaves, grapevine, branch, stem, vineyard, winery, falkner, temecula, southern, california, usa, travel, vacation, nature, landscape, scenic, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Titus Canyon

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Titus Canyon

Titus Canyon. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park.

This was, to say the least, a difficult shot. Besides driving nearly 30 miles on dirt roads, there were photographic challenges, not the least of which is the extreme dynamic contrast between the very bright sky and the dark canyon walls. Needless to say, this photograph is the result of some significant post-processing work – but do click the image to view it larger.

The road through Titus Canyon is one of the most amazing features of any Western US National Park. (Shhh….) It begins on a rather typical high desert dirt road through sagebrush country but then ascends into the Amargosa range. Before long this narrow one-way track twists and turns up and down steep ridges past amazing rocky ridges and along the top of tremendous canyons – while not a true four-wheel drive road, it is not for the faint hearted. It then descends into Titus Canyon itself, and near the bottom it passes through an unbelievable slot canyon – in places barely wider than your car the canyon walls rise vertically for hundreds of feet above. (If you visit Titus Canyon, check with the park service first since road conditions are very rough and can change.)

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Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes, Evening

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Stovepipe Dunes, Evening

Stovepipe Dunes, Evening. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening light softly illuminates folded terrain of the Stovepipe Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

I’m just back from a four-day trip to Death Valley and this first photo I’ve posted is also one of the first I took – on the first evening after I arrived in the park.

keywords: death valley, national park, stovepipe, wells, sand, dunes, evening, twilight, plants, folds, mountains, waves, ripples, soft, light, desert, grapevine, california, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, stock