Tag Archives: haze

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

Mendocino Bay, Morning

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Mendocino Bay, Morning
Waves wash onto the shoreline of Mendocino Bay on a foggy morning.

Mendocino Bay, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Waves wash onto the shoreline of Mendocino Bay on a foggy morning.

Recently I returned to the photographs from this visit to the North Coast of California, on which we spent a few days in Mendocino. This little town presents an interesting dichotomy between the old-school funky, hippiness of that part of the state and the semi-yuppified element that has grown in more recent years. In a sense, you “see it all” in this place.

On this visit we stayed in town, not more than a couple of minutes walk from the bluffs overlooking the bay just south of the peninsula on which the town sits. On this morning we wandered over there in the morning before the morning fog and haze had completely clearer, and I made a series of photographs looking inland along these bluffs to the outlet of the river that drains into the bay.

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

Creosote and Dunes in Morning Light

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Creosote and Dunes in Morning Light
Shadows and early morning light on creosote plants and sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Creosote and Dunes in Morning Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows and early morning light on creosote plants and sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Yes, I know. I keep suggesting that I’m done with the new photographs from this year’s early-April visit to Death Valley. And then I decide to look at them again before moving on. And I find another that I want to work up. And then another. I really do think I may be done with them. For now. Maybe. But maybe not…

These creosote plants are among the Death Valley plants that seem to thrive, or at least survive, in the least likely places. Here they grow on the sand dunes and are among the largest plants you’ll find here. As they battle this harsh environment of heat, intense light, strong winds, and blowing sand they not only manage to live here but they even affect this landscape. Clumps of creosote like this one obstruct the blowing sand enough to begin a process of building small mounds at their base, and this seems to allow additional shoots of the plant to fill in until some examples are quite large.

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

Morning Haze, Dunes and Mountains

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Morning Haze, Dunes and Mountains
A long desert vista, from creoste growing in the dunes to distant mountains shrouded byh morning haze.

Morning Haze, Dunes and Mountains. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A long desert vista, from creoste growing in the dunes to distant mountains shrouded byh morning haze.

There are still a few more photographs in the series from this year’s foray to Death Valley National Park, though I suspect that they will wind down soon as I move to other subjects. It is hard to believe that I was there only a bit more than a month ago — it seems like much longer. When I was there around the beginning of April it was still only moderately (by DEVA standards!) warm, with temperatures only touching the low nineties. I’m sure it is hotter now, and it will remain so until late in the year. That’s my way of saying that I won’t be headed back there until many months from now!

This photograph comes from my one morning foray into the well-known dunes not far from Stovepipe Wells. As I have previously mentioned, I often head to somewhat less “busy” areas of these dunes — partly to avoid running into other visitors, but also to find views that are not the familiar, iconic ones. This view looks across a long view from the close creosote to the distant haze-obscured desert mountains that rim the valley.

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

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

Dunes, Mountains, and Shadows

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Dunes, Mountains, and Shadows
Morning light highights the forms of sand dunes and distant desert mountains.

Dunes, Mountains, and Shadows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light highights the forms of sand dunes and distant desert mountains.

This photograph was likely made near the end of the morning’s work among the dunes, as the light is just about to become more harsh than what I usually favor with this subject. The camera position, focal length, and direction of the photograph were chosen to include several things: that lovely section of curving dunes with shadows, the fascinating pattern on the nearer dune at the bottom, the muted details of the distant mountains, and as little vegetation as possible.

The photograph was a compositional challenge. While I really wanted to feature the diagonal ripples across the foreground dune, including too much of this ended up dwarfing the more distant landscape. The alignment between the summit of the darker dune and the distant peak and where to place both in the composition was a bit of a question. The photograph is also an example of my inclination to use longer focal lengths with many landscape subjects.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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