Tag Archives: landscape

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape

At the Edge of Lake Manly, Sunrise

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At the Edge of Lake Manly, Sunrise
“At the Edge of Lake Manly, Sunrise” — Solitary figure at the edge of Lake Manly and the reflection of a desert mountain sunrise.

Most of my landscape photographs include little or no evidence of human presence. But sometimes including a human figure can transform a photograph. (I suggest obscuring the figure with the tip of your finger to see how much it changes things.) The person obviously provides a focal point, but also invites viewers to imagine themselves in the scene.

I did not set out to include people in my photographs of Lake Manly. In fact, I positioned myself at the very edge to the lake so that I could include uninterrupted reflections. But this person walked out on a small peninsula that was barely above the water level. At first I was mildly irritated… but I soon realized that this simply gave me a different sort of photographic opportunity.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Death Valley, Mountains, Morning Haze

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Death Valley, Mountains, Morning Haze
“Death Valley, Mountains, Morning Haze” — Morning haze over Death VAlley and desert mountains..

This view is from the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley. We were fortunate that it was accessible at all. The initial access road reopened days before our arrival after being closed for most of the year… and a storm closed it again on the day we left the park. The dark foreground mountain is part of the range from which I made the photograph. In the middle ground we see the still-shadowed floor of the valley with the Amargosa River passing through salt flats. Beyond that are several more desert mountain ranges disappearing into distant haze.

Some of the most spectacular sites in Death Valley National Park lie far from the familiar tourist hot spots. Reaching them may require hiking or long droves on rough desert roads. (This is a very big park!) And seeing these places at the best time often means traveling to them in predawn darkness or returning late at night. To arrive at this location we started driving a couple of hours before sunrise, and the last part of the drive was on a narrow gravel road.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Three Trees and Pasture

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Three Trees and Pasture
“Three Trees and Pasture” — Three dormant trees in a newly-green Central Valley pasture.

A band of photographers and friends has met in a semi-wild place every New Year’s Day for about a decade. We get join welcome tothe new year, share stories, and photograph birds and the landscape. Until this year we had a streak of good weather New Year’s Days, but we were due for bad weather — and we got it! It wasn’t exactly horrible, but it was rather wet and gray… except for a few moments when the clouds parted enough to allow some light.

These three bare trees are old friends of mine. I’ve visited and photographed them for years. This time I was intrigued by the light on more distant trees, the ominous skies, and the newly green pasture. That winter green is a characteristic of much of California. it must almost seem to those from other places that our seasons are backwards — brown and dry in the summer and lush and green in the middle of winter.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

View From A High Place

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“View From A High Place” — Looking out at Death Valley and the Grapevine Mountains from a viewpoint in a high canyon.

Elsewhere in California on this early winter day the skies were cloudy and rain was in the air. But in Death Valley the skies were (partly) blue and the temperatures were comfortable. We had a little extra time between stops so we headed up to this popular little canyon late in the day. On the way back down we came across this place where the dark canyon opened in the bright valley.

There is a lot of “Death Valley stuff” in this photograph. The distant playa is just above sea level, and in places is covered by impressive sand dunes. The distant desert mountains tower thousands of feet above the lowlands. Because there is little to no vegetation on them, their geology is laid bare. The dark foreground walls are near the opening at the bottom of a grand desert wash.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.