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Commentary, Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Transverse Dunes, Death Valley

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Transverse Dunes, Death Valley

Transverse Dunes, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of transverse Death Valley Dunes at sunset.

This is another photo from the shoot I described in yesterday’s post – a quick shoot from a roadside pullout as the day came to an end. We just barely arrived here in time (having arrived in the park just hours earlier) and ended up shooting with long lenses from this roadside vantage point.

While many people focus on the taller section of these dunes a bit further west (I’ve shot them also) this section of smaller “transverse dunes” further into the valley provides some very interesting shapes, textures, and colors.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

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Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada – starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki

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Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki

Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry mud formations at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, with Mount Tucki in the distance.

I came across this scene after I had pretty much finished my morning shoot of the dunes and was starting to head back to my car. These formations are found in the lower areas around the dunes – suggesting to me that they may underly a good portion of the dune area. Mount Tucki, in the distance, it a high point that dominates the landscape behind Stovepipe Wells.

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