Tag Archives: morning

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

Death Valley, Panamint Foothills, Morning

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Death Valley, Panamint Foothills, Morning
Morning sunlight on Death Valley hills and the foothills of the Panamint Mountains

Death Valley, Panamint Foothills, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sunlight on Death Valley hills and the foothills of the Panamint Mountains.

One’s orientation to “landscape” may manifest in many ways — a focus on the large or the small, an approach that implies objective realism or one that embraces subjectivity, the discovery of new landscapes or the deeper exploration of those already known, an interest in ostensibly “untouched” subjects or attention to those affected by the human presence, and more. Death Valley is diverse enough for any of these, but I often find myself focusing on the largest scale subjects. The place is huge, and at the right hours, in the right seasons, and in the right places the park is a place of deep silence and immense stillness.

This was the last morning of my most recent visit, and I went out alone very early, heading to a place that afforded a somewhat elevated perspective. As I traveled there I was not optimistic about the prospects for the morning — the sky was mostly overcast, there was a bluish haze in the air, and even the earliest light was blocked by clouds to the east. But one thing I relearn nearly every time I go out is that if you go out enough and are persistent enough, things happen, and sometimes they happen at the least likely times. As this morning wore on, some time after the first light that could have been colorful, the sun began to break through the clouds, and areas of light and shadow moved across this immense landscape. As I made this photograph the light was shining on the foothills of the Panamint Range, many miles away and on the far side of Death Valley.

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 and Amazon.

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

Dune Curves, Morning Light

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Dune Curves, Morning Light
Early morning light and shadows on curving dune forms, Death Valley National Park

Dune Curves, Morning Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light and shadows on curving dune forms, Death Valley National Park.

Yes, it is one more in the never-ending series of sand dune photographs. As I have written previously, the dunes provide a seemingly endless photographic laboratory in light and shadow, color, texture, form, and more. They can be photographed on the large scale, where they comprise an entire monumental landscape, but they can also be presented on a smaller scale, where a photograph might feature a single gesture of sand, a plant, animal tracks, or some other small thing.

I think that you can look at many photographs of this type as having a dual nature. Looked at one way they are representations of “the real” in the natural world, though always with some degree of subjectivity and interpretation. Looked at in another way they can almost be abstract, divorced from their sources. I enjoy trying to see them both ways and in exploring the flexible boundary between the two ways of seeing. Here I was intrigued by mirrored shapes, in one case created by sunlight on a dune surface and in the other a shadow cast by a low ridge that is not within the frame.

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 and Amazon.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Morning, Temblor Range

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Morning, Temblor Range
Morning light on spring-green hills of the Temblor Range

Morning, Temblor Range. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on spring-green hills of the Temblor Range.

Many landscapes appeal to me, but if you want to see geology laid bare I think the best places are those where few things grow, or at least where the plant life is so small and sparse as to permit a direct view of the land itself — places above timber line or arid places. This location, the Carrizo Plain, is not the driest place in California, but it is hot enough in the warm season to turn the place brown, and there are virtually no trees here.

The geology and geography here are worthy of attention. The most obvious feature is the Temblor Range of mountains lying to the northeast. These mountains mark the mighty San Andreas earthquake fault — its line sit at their base and the effects of its motion may be see in many places. A second feature, at least for me, is the immensity of the landscape. It is one of those places where distances are deceiving, and what looks like a quick jaunt across the valley could add up to nearly ten miles. On the morning I made this photograph the valley had been full of post-rain fog when the first light arrived. As it cleared it left a certain combination of both clarity and softness in the 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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Green HIlls, Morning Mist

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Green HIlls, Morning Mist
Morning fog and mist above green spring hills

Green HIlls, Morning Mist. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog and mist above green California spring hills.

Many people who visit California for the first time are surprised by how dry much of the state is for most of the year. In many places — most of Southern California, the deserts, the Central Valley, coastal hills, even along portions of the coast — the predominant colors from late spring through autumn are golden and brown. What they don’t know, but may learn over repeated visits, is that much of the state passes through a miraculously green interval every year during late winter and early spring. During this time that dry, brown terrain becomes “impossibly green” for a short period.

This week I visited one of those places that seems desert-like during most of the year. Following recent rains there was mud everywhere, and even the driest of hills was sprouting new green growth. I camped up in a valley above a large plain, and when I arose in pre-dawn light I swore that this arid valley appeared to be full of fog. I broke camp in near-darkness, and as I drove down I entered the fog bank, which soon began to drift and thin in early sunlight, revealing this landscape of overlapping slopes, edges marked by the low-angle 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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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