Tag Archives: lake

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin

Rabbitbrush, Ghost Forest

Image Leave a comment
Rabbitbrush, Ghost Forest
“Rabbitbrush, Ghost Forest” — Rabbibrush blooms near a ghost forest of burned ponderosa pines, Mono Basin.

On a late-September morning I headed out into country near Mono Lake, eventually turning off the two-late highway to follow a random gravel track that traced the edge of an extraordinarily large ponderosa pine forest. This area within sight of Mono Lake was burned in a forest fire years ago, and there are still lots of dead trees around the fringe of the forest. The stark beauty of the skeletal trees intrigued me, and I eventually found a place to stop and explore a bit.

This is an austere landscape. Even where the trees still grow there is a lot of space between them, likely due to the dry environment. In many places there is only sagebrush country, and in this spot the sandy soil supports even less vegetation. But it the middle of this — and against the backdrop of those dead trees — rabbitbrush plants were in full, colorful bloom.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if 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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Half Submerged

Image Leave a comment
Half Submerged
“Half Submerged” — The salt playa of Death Valley partially submerged under the shallow waters of Manly Lake.

Part of what I love about this subject is how hard it is initially to understand exactly what we are looking at. (I wonder what you thought it was at first?) My first impression, at least when looking at small versions, is of sky and clouds. It is only when I look more closely that I realize that it is not that at all — it is the playa of Death Valley, where salt flats are partially submerged beneath the water of Lake Manly.

We usually direct our eyes parallel to the ground or perhaps upwards when we view the landscape. But on those occasions when we can look down at it from a distance we see it in a very different light. Features that are barely, if at all, visible from down below become the major points of interest. (There’s a lot more to see in this scene than first meets the eye.) And all of this is enhanced by the subjective feelings that come with looking out from any very high vantage point.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if 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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Afternoon Light, Lake Manly

Image Leave a comment
Afternoon Light, Lake Manly
“Afternoon Light, Lake Manly” — Light beams above the snow-capped Panamint Mountains and Lake Manly.

These beams of light — sometimes known among photographers as “God light” — are a common afternoon feature in Death Valley. The valley runs roughly north-south, and there are tall mountain ranges on either side, with summits rising up to 11,000’+ at Telescope Peak on the west side. Consequently, direct sunrise and sunset are blocked from much of the valley floor, However, some time after sunrise and before sunset the light passes though canyons and gaps in the mountains, and this is the effect when it illuminates atmospheric haze.

If you visit Death Valley, it s good to keep this geography lesson in mind, since it can affect your experience and photography potential. If you want to photograph sunrise/sunset, you can see sunlit peaks on west side mountains in the morning and the east side mountains late in the day. If you want light down in the valley, you’ll have to find it a bit after sunrise and well before chronological sunset. What to do in the middle of the day when the sun is harsh? I like to head for canyons, the deeper and narrower the better!

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if 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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Meandering Channels

Image Leave a comment
Meandering Channels
“Meandering Channels” — Water flows across the salt playa through meandering channels in Death Valley.

Viewed up close from the valley floor, Death Valley is a mostly flat place blanked by tall mountains. But the details of its huge playa are largely invisible unless you travel off the paved roads and out into it. But even there, the flat terrain makes it difficult to fully understand the landforms. To do that you are better off heading to some place high above the valley and looking down into it from above.

I went one such place very early in the morning, and from there I watched the first rays of sunrise light strike the peaks of mountains across the valley, then work their way down to the valley itself. Eventually the shadows contracted and the full valley was in sun, revealing remarkable patterns of land, salt deposits, and meandering seasonal streams.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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