Tag Archives: light

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

Evening Clouds Above the Panamint Range

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Evening Clouds Above the Panamint Range
Colorful evening clouds above the Panamint Range and Death Valley.

Evening Clouds Above the Panamint Range. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Colorful evening clouds above the Panamint Range and Death Valley.

In previous posts about this Death Valley trip I mentioned that storm-related closures forced me to modify my plans when I arrived in the park. I ended up visiting a few out-of-the way locations on foot, areas not far from central attractions of the park, but perhaps less visited. (In one case, barely visited at all from what I could tell.) But I also made a last-minute decision to drive up to Dantes View one evening, and the sky cooperated.

Quite often the Death Valley sky is… just plain blue. So I was surprised and pleased to spot this interesting cloud formation building over the Panamint Range. Since this is more traditionally a morning photography location, I was pretty happy to see the clouds, since otherwise much of the landscape is in rather deep shadows in the evening. The view is familiar, but remains astonishing — from this location we look down more than 5000′ to the otherworldly features of Death Valley, up to the 11,000’+ Telescope Peak topping the Panamints, and in the far distance a few snow-covered Sierra peaks are sometimes visible.

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.

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

Light in the Canyon

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Light in the Canyon
“Light in the Canyon” — Afternoon light strikes a hill in the lower reaches of a Death Valley canyon.

As I mentioned I recent posts, my plans for Death Valley were somewhat thwarted when I arrived there to find that large areas of the park were not accessible due to flood damage. I had to strike some remote areas from my agenda, recalibrate, and visit more accessible locations. As a result I ended up visiting more accessible areas that I had avoided in the past, including several fascinating washes that I really should have visited before. Since I had a free afternoon before evening photography I decided to take a long hike up this wash and back, and I’m glad I did.

The deeper and narrower Death Valley canyons are great places to visit during the daytime hours — in fact, a typical shooting plan for me includes a sunrise and sunset locations with one or more canyons partially filling the time between the morning and evening shoots. The timing of this canyon walk was such that the bottom of the canyon was almost fully shaded at times. I made this photograph near a bend where a bit of light reached the bottom of the canyon and illuminated this lighter colored formation.

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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

Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains

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Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains
In dawn light, the Panamint Mountains rise from Death Valley to snow-covered Telescope Piak.

Winter Dawn, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

In dawn light, the Panamint Mountains rise from Death Valley to snow-covered Telescope Piak.

At the current time many road (and the locations they access) in Death Valley National Park are closed as a result of earlier flooding and washouts. Before I went there this past week I was aware of some closures, but when I arrived I discovered that some of my planned destinations were unavailable. I changed plans, improvised, and still found plenty to see and do in the park, and my list of planned locations remains for my next visit.

If plans had not changed, I would not likely have come back with this photograph. I often make relatively last-minute decisions about where to photograph based on light and sky conditions, and when I noticed that the air was clearer than usual — important given the vast distances in this park — I headed to a location with a view of the first morning light on the Panamint Mountains and their snow-capped summit of Telescope Peak. To give some idea of the distances, the highest peak is perhaps roughly twenty-five miles from my camera position.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree

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Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree
Morning sky filled with blue clouds behind a winter-dormant tree, Central Valley, California.

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning sky filled with blue clouds behind a winter-dormant tree, Central Valley, California.

This photograph is from New Yea’s Day morning, when a small group of us met in a wild place to photograph birds and, a bit later, to break out goodies and champagne to toast the arrival of 2023. The day was a rousing social success… which made up for the overall less-than-thrilling photographic conditions. It was far from a “bust,” but moments of good light were separated by many more with gray skies and wind.

This complex tree is an “old friend” of mine — a tree that I see many times each year. Every time I pass I think about how to photograph it and realize that it isn’t an easy subject! My most successful efforts have been in fog, when details of the scene are muted and the background disappears. On this day I had some unusual colors and light to work with — the blue-toned sky and the more colorful breaks in the clouds.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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