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

Canyon Bend

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Photo of Death Valley slot canyon
“Canyon Bend” — A bend in the canyon narrows, Death Valley National Park.

Slot canyons and “narrows” are among the most compelling desert landscapes. Desert landscapes tend to be exposed, open to the sky and wind, and blasted by the midday sun. The space seems horizontally oriented, often with a distant horizon and perhaps low mountains rising from playas. The canyons contrast almost every way. They are places of shade, protected from wind, and the distant horizontal views are cut off, replaced by close surfaces covered with angles and curves.

There are many small canyons in Death Valley National Park, and they may be among its least-known and most interesting features. A few are popular, but most are off the beaten path and some are downright difficult to get to. Their lonely quality is part of the charm, and I hope it stays that way. This spot presents a fascinating combination of the blue-light, shadowed stratified walls, the water stained face in the warmer light above, and the canyon floor covered in gravel washed down by flowing water.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Canyon Wall Detail

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Canyon Wall Detail
Detail of a canyon wall with tilted sedimentary rocks and fossils, Death Valley National Park.

Canyon Wall Detail. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a canyon wall with tilted sedimentary rocks and fossils, Death Valley National Park.

These rocks tell a story, a profound one no doubt, but also one that this non-geologist is incapable of fully comprehending. But I do know a few things, and with that bit of knowledge and the time to observe, I can report that there is a lot to think about in places like this and, for that matter, the entirety of Death Valley National Park. A difference between this landscape and most others with which I’m familiar is that here it is almost entirely exposed rather than being hidden underneath forests and snow.

As I understand it, the course of many of the rocks here is sedimentary — they were formed under ancient seas. (Portions of the valley were submerged much more recently, and that shorter tale is visible, too, in places.) Those sediments sometimes captured creatures that became fossilized, as we see in the black spots in the rocks of this photograph. Then various geological forces lifted, tilted, fractured, and contorted these layers over a vast span of time. In many places in the park the strata are inclined upward as they progress to the west. Here one of the inclined rock bands contains colors that are the exception rather than the rule in this national park.

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

Canyon Narrows

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Canyon Narrows
Soft light in the narrows of a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Canyon Narrows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft light in the narrows of a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Canyons are (almost) all about the light. OK, the textures and forms are pretty striking, too, as is the quiet. But the light is really special. In the narrowest sections — such as the “narrows” in this photograph — direct sunlight doesn’t penetrate to the bottom of the canyon much or sometimes at all. The typical ideas about best times for landscape photography can be upended, as the best light often comes to these places when the sun is high enough to shine directly on upper walls and then bounce its way down into the depths of the canyon.

I have recently shared some other photographs from this canyon, made on a recent trip when I camped nearby and was able to enter the canyon more than once and at various times of the day. The other photographs are all in color, and they tend to highlight the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle!) contrasts between warm and cool-colored light. I had to chuckle inwardly a few days ago when a friend suggested that I try monochrome with this subject. I’ve been a black and white photographer since, well, the first time I picked up a camera, and I often think that my visual home is monochrome. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I would want to find a way to produce a photograph of this place in black and white, too.

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

Path Through the Narrows

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Path Through the Narrows
The route through the narrows of a desert canyon twists and turns past rock walls.

Path Through the Narrows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The route through the narrows of a desert canyon twists and turns past rock walls.

This is another photograph from my time exploring canyons on my recent Death Valley visit. The pandemic shutdown period — even though things were beginning to let up a bit — seemed like a good time to visit areas in the park that are less accessible and where I was more likely to find myself in splendid solitude. A barely saw anyone during my visit to this area, and I was the only person there when I stayed overnight.

Canyons have wildly diverse “personalities” and, like some humans, those personalities are subject to change. This canyon, like some others in this park, alternates between open sections with shallow-angle canyon “walls” and more constricted “narrows.” I made this photograph near the entrance to one of the narrows. At this time of day there was quite a bit of light filtering down from far above, bouncing back and forth between the eroded canyon walls and filling the scene with soft light.

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 | 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.