Tag Archives: Mountain

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

Wash and Alluvial Fan

Image Leave a comment
Wash and Alluvial Fan
Morning light on a giant alluvial fan at the base of a desert mountain wash.

Wash and Alluvial Fan. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on a giant alluvial fan at the base of a desert mountain wash.

The immense scale of the Death Valley landscape is one of its most impressive characteristics. I’ve written that it reminds me of places like The Yukon, where features stretch on over great distances, so large that it can be hard to make sense of them. One day I decided to go to a location at one extreme edge of the park. Starting roughly in the middle of the park, the trip took me close to two hours of driving, the last portion on a gravel road. I also contemplated visiting another location at the opposite end of the park — it would have been close to a 100 mile drive in the opposite direction, with more than 40 of it on gravel. Driving direct between these two points might have taken six hours and covered close to 150 miles. From many high places in this park you can look across many tens of miles, often so far that the landscape may simply disappear in the distant haze.

It isn’t just the travel distances that are huge — many of the features of the landscape are so large that they defy an accurate sense of scale. The gravel fan in this photograph, spilling out of a narrow canyon at the base of one of the parks large mountain ranges, is likely about ten miles from my camera position and probably at least 1000 feet above the valley floor. It would take a full day to walk there, with no trail to follow. I made the photograph as the first direct sunlight had worked its way down the face of the mountain range.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: White Mountains

Owens Valley and the White Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Owens Valley and the White Mountains
The morning view from the base of the Sierra Nevada, looking across Owens Valley to the White Mountains.

Owens Valley and the White Mountains. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The morning view from the base of the Sierra Nevada, looking across Owens Valley to the White Mountains.

Our recent road trip began in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. The reason for starting here was aspen color, and whether or not that ended up being the primary photographic focus the fall aspens are always worth a visit. Having photographed that subject for quite a few years, going to only the “usual places” is no longer quite enough, so I invariably end up heading out and exploring some places where aspen hunters typically don’t go. On this morning we headed up toward the base of the Sierra, passing through lots of aspen-free high desert terrain, and finally reaching a high enough point that we found some small, isolated groves.

In places like this, aspens can take a back seat to the larger and even monumental vistas along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra. With a bit of elevation, views open to the north, south, and (especially) to the high ridges of the White Mountains along the eastern side of Owens Valley. Although this range is in the rain shadow of the Sierra, and thus lacks the Sierra forests and deep snow, it is just as high and rugged. The photograph looks straight across Owens Valley toward the range, where White Mountain, the highest point, is just nudging Into the base of the morning 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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak
A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

When it comes to visiting the Sierra Nevada, the past couple of years have been a challenge! Travel was hard in general during the summer of 2020. I managed to get up there briefly in the late summer, but I ran into wildfire issues and had to cancel out of the one backpack trip I had planned. I got to the Sierra a couple of times this season, but on each visit something threw a monkey wrench into my plans and I had to improvise or leave early. During the past few days I managed to get to the east side to see the aspen color. But (yes, here it comes) I hit wildfire smoke south of Bridgeport, and when CalTrans started closing passes yesterday in anticipation of several inches of new snow, I high-tailed it back home.

However, I did see and photograph some aspen color. For the most part, I saw some pretty decent color, with the promise of more to come. There were quite a few colorful trees and plenty of others with hints of color to come over the next couple of weeks. If you can avoid the smoke, it should be good. (It was sad to see many newly-brown trees along Tioga Pass Road on my way home, trees that appear to be suffering from the drought.)

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Winter Fog, Big Sur Coast

Image 2 Comments
Winter Fog, Big Sur Coast
Winter fog and ocean spray hugs the rugged Big Sur coast.

Winter Fog, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter fog and ocean spray hugs the rugged Big Sur coast.

It is possible that my writing about the Big Sur Coast could become a bit repetitious. After all, my visits to the place are… repetitive! It takes about an hour for me to drive to the upper boundary of the region, and I can (and do) make a down and back trip in less than a day, often leaving home before sunrise and returning for a late lunch. Proximity to this remarkable landscape is a big part of what induces me to continue to put up with San Francisco Bay Area traffic and costs. It is hard to imagine another place with access to so many remarkable things.

This photograph comes from a visit on a sunny early December day last year. The season from November through the first half of spring is my favorite along this coast. The surf is often impressive — especially when a Pacific weather front is approaching — and conditions are remarkably variable, including fog, brilliant sunshine, strong winds, beautiful clouds, intimidating storms, and more. This morning featured one of my favorite combinations of conditions: surf big enough to raise mist along the coastline, a bit of a marine layer, and brilliant sun overhead.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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