Tag Archives: morning

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

Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains

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Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains
“Morning Clouds, Desert Mountains” — Layers of colorful dawn clouds above Searles Valley and distant peaks of Death Valley National Park.

The distant peaks seen here are within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park, but I was a good distance outside the park when I made the photograph. I had gone to the Trona Pinnacles, outside the extractive mining town of Trona to photograph. But the visual action wasn’t that at the pinnacles that morning — it was far to the north above these snow-capped desert mountains, where lenticular clouds caught the dawn light and momentarily glowed with intense color.

The town of Trona is like many desert towns in Southern California and the Southwest. It is far from being a ghost town, but it has the air of a place whose best days are distinctly behind it. The economy is built around extractive industries, in particular mining the mineral deposits of the Searles Valley playa. People still live and work here, but a drive past the town reveals abandoned homes and businesses, left to decay in the desert sun and wind.

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, Photographs: Sky, Photographs: Southern California

Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly

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Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly
“Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly” — Pre-dawn clouds fill the sky above the Panamint Mountains reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

The brief interval between darkness and the arrival of the morning sun may be my favorite time of day in the desert. Everything is still and quiet, and I’m often the only person around. The temperature is comfortable, and sometimes as close to cool as it will get. The light changes perceptibly, transitioning from deep twilight blues toward the intensely warm colors of sunrise. And I have a full day ahead of me.

This time I was not completely alone, but I was close to it. The unusual reappearance of Lake Manly had drawn others, and I could see them in the distance on nearby hills. As the light increased, this large cloud above the valley came into focus and drifted slowly above the still waters of the lake and the reflected form of the distant Panamint Mountains.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Mountains, Wash, and Reflection

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Mountains, Wash, and Reflection
“Mountains, Wash, and Reflection” _ A large wash near the base of the Panamint Mountains is reflected on the surface of Lake Manly.

This is a kind of Death Valley photograph that you won’t often see — mountains reflected in the quiet surface of a huge lake. This is Lake Manly, the reconstituted remnant of a much larger lake that filled the valley long ago. Between a historic tropical storm late last summer and better-than-usual rainfall since then, the lake reappeared and persisted. It currently covers many square miles in the Badwater area of the valley.

This photograph is (yet another) illustration of the vast distances encountered in Death Valley and how deceptive they can be. You might look across this landscape and imagine walking to the base of that wash leading into the mountains. However, even if the lake wasn’t there, you would be hard pressed to reach that spot with even a very long day of walking.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

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

Desert Mountain Ridges

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Desert Mountain Ridges
“Desert Mountain Ridges” — Layes of desert mountain ridges stretch to the east, Death Valley National Park.

This is one of those “photograph the thing you did not go for” photographs, seen while mostly focusing on an entirely different subject. I was in Death Valley partly because I go there every year at about this time, and partly to photograph the rare reappearance of Lake Manly. (This lake reformed following heavy rains in the desert starting late last summer.) On this morning I went to a point high above the valley to photograph the broad setting of the lake and to use long lenses to isolate details. But the lake is nowhere in this photograph…

… because this scene was in the opposite direction! I arrived well before sunrise, and while I waited for some of that sun to arrive in the valley the horizon to the east put on a spectacular show. Obviously the pre-dawn sky was impressive with its intense and varied colors. But the vast area visible from this point produced beautiful atmospheric recession over the layered ridges stretching into the far distance.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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