Tag Archives: hill

Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light

Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light

Detail, Zabriskie Point Folds in Morning Light. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on variously angled curving ridges below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park.

This is another in the series of photographs of details of the geology surrounding Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park – for the most part the interesting patterns of folded and twisted earth rather than the grand epic landscape to the west.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: zabriskie, point, fold, gully, angles, wash, ravine, morning, light, sun, death valley, national park, california, usa, desert, dry, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, shadow, geology, colors, shape, form, hill

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on the round folds of earth in Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley National Park, California.

From my point of view, at least based on my one visit there, one of the most interesting features in Twenty Mule Team Canyon has to be the extensive areas of colorful “folded earth” cut with gullies formed by runoff water. This area is hundreds of feet across and extends for a good distance from right to left as well. In flat light the color can be very pastel, but in the warm early morning light the subtle colors become more intense and visible. Here, shortly after sunrise, the light is skimming across the tops of the small hills, lighting them but allowing the gullies to remain shaded.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: twenty, 20, mule, team, canyon, geology, form, gully, fold, hill, round, color, morning, light, shape, pattern, death valley, national park, california, usa, scenic, landscape, travel, stock

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gravel road winds through the curved hills of Twenty Mule Team Canyon in early morning light, Death Valley National Park, California.

I had never visited Twenty Mule Team Canyon (located just up the road from Zabriskie Point) before this trip, but thanks to Edie Howe’s recommendation I spent an early morning shooting there on this trip. Except for the lack of a single dominant feature like Manley Point, in some ways this little loop has as much or more to offer than Zabriskie Point. Many of the same curved and twisted landscape features are found here, and there is even a wonderful early morning view down across low hills and peaks into the heart of Death Valley itself. In this photograph the early morning light is hitting what is, to be honest, a mud hill near a curve in the gravel road that passes through the canyon.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: road, dirt, gravel, turn, curve, berm, bank, 20, twenty, mule, team, canyon, death valley, national park, california, usa, hill, mud, wash, morning, light, golden, fold, scenic, travel, stock, nature, landscape, geology

Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light

Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light

Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light streams through a redwood grove to illuminate ferns on the sloping forest floor below at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Yes, another photo of a redwood grove at Muir Woods National Monument. As I think I wrote earlier, I’m working on creating a collection of photographs of this location and obviously the trees themselves need to have a large place in all of this work. This is a bit different – really, trust me! – than some of the other recent redwood grove shots in that it was made during sunny conditions rather than the more gloomy (but no less interesting) rainiy and cloudy conditions I had photographed earlier.

And, yes, there will be more… :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: forest, woods, trees, redwoods, grove, trunks, vertical, muir woods, national monument, park, california, usa, marin, county, floor, hill, slope, ferns, illuminate, nature, frond, branch, dense, light, morning, shadow, green, stock