Tag Archives: haze

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains
In dawn light, the Panamint Mountains rise from Death Valley to snow-covered Telescope Piak.

Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

In dawn light, the Panamint Mountains rise from Death Valley to snow-covered Telescope Piak.

At the current time many road (and the locations they access) in Death Valley National Park are closed as a result of earlier flooding and washouts. Before I went there this past week I was aware of some closures, but when I arrived I discovered that some of my planned destinations were unavailable. I changed plans, improvised, and still found plenty to see and do in the park, and my list of planned locations remains for my next visit.

If plans had not changed, I would not likely have come back with this photograph. I often make relatively last-minute decisions about where to photograph based on light and sky conditions, and when I noticed that the air was clearer than usual — important given the vast distances in this park — I headed to a location with a view of the first morning light on the Panamint Mountains and their snow-capped summit of Telescope Peak. To give some idea of the distances, the highest peak is perhaps roughly twenty-five miles from my camera position.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Headlands, Surf, and Fog

Image Leave a comment
Headlands, Surf, and Fog
Headlands and coastal mountains obscured by winter fog along the Big Sur Coast.

Headlands, Surf, and Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Headlands and coastal mountains obscured by winter fog along the Big Sur Coast.

This is a scene that I have tried to photograph many times. When I stop to make a photograph here, it always seems like it should be easy… but it inevitably ends up being very challenging if not impossible. The subject is quite a distance away, so it requires a very long focal length. However, the long focal length magnifies issues created by air movement across the great distance, and even with though I want to evoke that soft atmosphere, it is hard to get the right balance of detail where it is needed. I tried again this past week, and decided to interpret the subject in a bit of a different manner.

A challenge is that the hazy conditions that obscure and diffuse the subject in the way I hoped for also tend to be both gray and of quite low contrast. To address that I decided on a brighter, high key rendition of the scene in which the colors are extremely subtle and the darkest tones are, objectively speaking, still at the brighter end of the scale. In a sense, the object here is to “suggest” more than to “record.”

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Cliffs, Beach, and Winter Surf

Image Leave a comment
Cliffs, Beach, and Winter Surf
Coastal cliffs, beach and winter surf near Rocky Point, Big Sur Coast.

Cliffs, Beach, and Winter Surf. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Coastal cliffs, beach and winter surf near Rocky Point, Big Sur Coast.

In an earlier post describing another photograph from this recent visit to the Big Sur coast I mentioned that it included virtually all of the features found in “typical”many landscape photograph from this location, with the point arguably being, “what more could I ask for?”. The truth about this visit was a bit more complicated. It was, indeed, a wonderful morning on the coast — but it also was not exactly easy photography. There were objective challenges posed by the recent heavy rains and the closures and damage they brought. But the light was also a challenge, especially when the haze became thick.

However, that same haze did thin from time to time, transforming dull and flat light into something soft and lovely — directional sunlight muted by passing through high clouds and thin fog. I spent a bit of time at the location of this photograph, and during much of it the fog was thick enough to choke off that light. But for a moment or two the fog shifted and thinned and there was enough light to create shadows and open up the scene a bit.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Headlands and Sea Stacks

Image Leave a comment
Headlands and Sea Stacks
Steep headlands and sea stacks along the rugged Big Sur coast, California.

Headlands and Sea Stacks. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Steep headlands and sea stacks along the rugged Big Sur coast, California.

In several ways, though not all, this was the best kind of winter day to photograph along the Big Sur coast. Recent storms had complicated access just enough to keep the crowds away. The lingering moisture softened the atmosphere and light. The surf was up. I stopped at a few of the usual places, but also found a few new overlooks. This is the second time I’ve been to this specific spot, and the conditions were different each time.

The scene is full of elements of a “typical” Big Sur coast photograph. Steep headlands running into the ocean? Check. Sea stacks just offshore? Check. The ever-present horizon? Check. Surf? Check. A bit of mist or fog? Check. Perhaps add a stop at the Big Sur Bakery along the way, and all of the pieces are in place!

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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