Tag Archives: Mountain

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

Desert Mountains and Sky

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Desert Mountains and Sky, Death Valley
“Desert Mountains and Sky” — Evening clouds form above desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

First day photographic subjects in Death Valley are often a bit tricky for me. It takes me about eight hours to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and when I arrive I have to find a campsite and set up my tent and other gear. By the time I finish it is typically getting close to the time when normal people would be eating dinner. Tempting, no? But I shift into “photographer mode,” and head out to find something to photograph — I’ll eat after dark when I return to camp.

While I do photograph on the first evening of these trips, I don’t generally travel that far to do it. This first evening was kind of lazy. I drove fifteen minutes to an area I know, and there I walked to the top of a nearby hill to check out the view, including these clouds. The sky is a fascinating subject in Death Valley. While big dramatic rain storms are rare (but not impossible) sometimes atmospheric conditions are affected by weather fronts that fall apart over the desert, leaving broken, dissipating clouds like these — and they can be quite dramatic.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

At Arthur’s Seat

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At Arthur's Seat
“At Arthur’s Seat” — Hikers rest and enjoy the view at Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland.

I did not plan to find myself on this summit in Edinburgh. Arthur’s Seat is a landmark here, the summit of a volcanic ridge that rises above the lowlands of the city. It has historical significance — perhaps you can imagine why? — and it is also in the middle of a very large park close to central Edinburgh. I made this photograph at the summit, and you can see that the climb was far from a solitary experience! More about the hike? Read on…

Someone Patty knows heard we were in Edinburgh, knew that we had just hiked the Great Glen Way, and assumed correctly that we were willing to do some walking. He suggested this “little hike,” and his description led us to expect a little nature hike. As we walked from our hotel not far from Edinburgh Castle and spotted a very tall and steep wall to our right we began to wonder what we were getting into! We joined a crowd of people on the hike — many hundreds for sure — as we slowly ascended this stiff climb. If we had known, we might not have done it, but once you get partway up such a thing it is hard to turn back,!

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: Southern California

Blue Mountains

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Blue Mountains

“Blue Mountains” — Desert mountain ridges, obscured by morning haze, extend into the distance.

If you have been following my 2023 photographs from Death Valley — I visited in March — you may recognize the contours of these distant mountains from a couple of monochrome images I shared earlier. I was at a high elevation location along the east side of the valley to photograph the playa at sunrise, but from time to time I turned my attention the other direction to look at these ridges extended into the distant haze.

One pleasure of viewing the world from such a location, high above the surrounding landscape, is that we sometimes see so far that eventually the features simply disappear into the distant haze. Here the haze was so thick — and back lit — that details were lost, leaving only the counters of the main features of the landscape.

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

Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains

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Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains
“Clouds, Lake, Desert Mountains” — Morning clouds above the Panamint Range, reflected in the smooth surface of Lake Manly.

This photograph may look a bit familiar if you follow my posts. I previously shared a landscape orientation (wide) version of a similar photograph, made just moments before I exposed this one. The Panamint Mountains are in the distance, under sunrise light, and the shadow of mountains to the east still falls on the lower slopes. This is reflected in the waters of Lake Manly.

I love finding interesting juxtapositions of color, light, and shape in the landscape. The reflective water of the temporary lake provided rare opportunities here. and I was able to find a composition that stacked up layers of clouds, sky, snow-capped peaks, sunrise light, and the shadow line in the middle.

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.