Tag Archives: hills

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

Colorful Desert Hills, Morning

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Colorful Desert Hills, Morning
Multi-colored strata in eroded desert hills

Colorful Desert Hills, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Multi-colored strata in eroded desert hills.

The colors of some of the strata laid bare in desert regions like this one are sometimes wild and occasionally unbelievable. The blue tones often provide some of the most striking surprises, since that may be the last color we expect to see in soil or large expanses of rock — reds, browns, yellows are far more common.

I made this photograph in a little area that is almost a lab of eroded forms and varied colors. I like to photograph here in the morning, when I often have the place to myself and when there is the possibility of soft, low-angle light. Here the strata of tan, red, and blue materials run at right angles to the lines produced by erosion.

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 and Amazon.

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

Clouds, Sand Storm, Desert Mountains

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Clouds, Sand Storm, Desert Mountains
Clouds from a weather front above sand storm in dessert mountains

Clouds, Sand Storm, Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds from a weather front above sand storm in dessert mountains.

At times during our early-April visit to Death Valley National Park we had some remarkable atmospheric conditions to work with. That was certainly the case on this evening, when we had a combination of low-angle sunlight (which became quite colorful right at sunset), a building sand storm that was filling the air above the Amargosa Range with thick dust, and a passing weather front that darkened the sky and dropped some light rain.

In this interpretation of the scene I chose to go with a black and white rendition. One reason is that, in some ways, monochrome interpretations actually allow more subjective flexibility with the scene. I think that black and white allows us to comfortably step a bit further away from the objective reality of the scene, since we start with something that is, by its monochromatic nature, emphatically not what we see in the real world. In this photograph I wanted to emphasize the powerful and monumental quality of the storm clouds above the masses of dust and sand covering the mountains.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Desert Hills and Salt Flats, Morning

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Desert Hills and Salt Flats, Morning
Desert hills on a giant alluvial fan dropping to Death Valley salt flats

Desert Hills and Salt Flats, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Desert hills on a giant alluvial fan dropping to Death Valley salt flats.

Each time I visit Death Valley ‚ and when visiting certain other challenging landscapes, I’m reminded that my memories tend to focus on the most pleasant, easiest, and most beautiful scenes… and that there are a lot of intervening periods when the photography can be quite challenging. I had to remind myself of that on this morning, as it began with extremely unpromising light. The sky was largely overcast, there was some bluish haze in the air, and sunrise came with barely any warming of the color at all. But you (almost) never know whether such light may turn into something more interesting… so you try to stick with it and be ready.

A bit later, around the time when I might typically be starting to think of concluding my early morning photography on an easier day, the clouds began to thin and move into better positions, and areas of light started to play across the landscape. As I often do in such conditions, I remained in a high place with a panoramic view of the immense landscape, putting a long lens on the camera so that I could make photographs of small areas where the light seemed more interesting. The dark hills low in the frame sit on the giant alluvial wash leading down to the salt playa of death valley, where the landscape eventually fades into the distant haze.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Desert Sand Storm, Mountains

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Desert Sand Storm, Mountains
A sand storm builds above Death Valley and the Amargosa Mountains

Desert Sand Storm, Mountains. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sand storm builds above Death Valley and the Amargosa Mountains.

Remarkable weather conditions frequently arise in the desert landscape, including those unfamiliar with these places might not expect, along with others that are perfectly obvious. In the “obvious” category are things like intense heat and strong winds that can produce dust and sand storms. The nearly opaque lower atmosphere in this photograph is due to precisely that — extreme winds were lifting sand and dust from the playa and dunes and sending them northeastward over the Amargosa Mountains. However, above the blowing sand are rain clouds that were dropping light showers around the area late in the day.

These are not easy conditions in which to make photographs, but the visual rewards often make it worth the attempt. I made this photograph from the just outside the limits of the blowing dust and sand clouds, though even here there was dust in the air and the wind was so strong that it was virtually impossible to complete stabilize my camera. After photographing here we continued on into the dust and wind, first going up into those distant mountains and finally heading down to the dunes that were the source of the cloud. There the conditions were both impressive and miserable as the day ended.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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