Tag Archives: mountains

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

Morning, Mountains, Desert Canyons

June 21, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cloud-filled sky at first light above desert mountains and canyon, Death Valley National Park

As I post this photograph on the summer solstice, this location is perhaps not a place you would want to be right now. I understand that temperatures in Death Valley National Park have been in the 120 degree range already this summer. But back on this March morning the scene was a lot different — clouds from a passing Pacific weather front obscured the dawn light, and there was a pleasantly cool wind at this location high in the Panamint range as the morning light arrived.

This view looks down through one of the many gigantic canyons of the Panamint Range, a sight that reminds us of just how important the flow of water has been in the creation of this remarkable landscape. In the middle distance the salt flats of Death Valley are visible at the base of the Black Mountains, and above that the demarcations between mountains and clouds and sky and light are hard to see, and the terrain of the rugged Death Valley landscape almost merges with the ephemeral terrain of this sky.

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

Dunes and Mountains, Twilight

June 20, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sand dunes and desert mountains in twilight, Death Valley National Park

Arriving in Death Valley earlier in the day, we had visited some canyon country that is a bit off the beaten path and then headed back to our home base in the park for the next few days. We got settled in, had some dinner, and headed out to make some photographs, deciding that it would be best on this first evening to photograph nearby.

We made it to an area along the periphery of the dunes before sunset and then continued to photograph during the evening light transition from warm pre-sunset color to the post-sunset blue hour light. Here there was still a bit of a glow from the west, but the sun had already dropped below the Cottonwood mountains, and the light was soft as we finished photographing in the evening stillness.

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

Natural Bridge, Evening Fog, and Coastal Mountains

June 5, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on the mountains, coast, and incoming fog along the Big Sur coast

Yesterday I shared a Big Sur Coast photograph — looking north and in black and white. Today’s post is a counterpoint to that one — it looks south and is in color. Both were made late on the same day, and in the same general central area of this rugged coast. It was late in the day and I was looking for an ideal last photographic location of the day, and from this particular overlook I could see down the coast… and the light was going to go before I had time to find another spot!

In many ways I suppose the view is typical. The view extends into the distance where it disappears into fog and coastal haze, and the coastline is an alternating landscape of shallow bays and jutting peninsulas where mountain ridges drop into the ocean. Here and there are the remnants of ridges and bluffs that lost their battle with the ocean long ago, and which now remain only as isolated rock and sea stacks set off from the shoreline. One of the most impressive of them in this photograph is right below the camera position where a large rocky formation is cut through by a natural bridge.

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

Sea Stack, Bluffs, Coastal Mountains

June 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A quiet evening along fog shrouded the Big Sur coastline

I think my favorite times along the Big Sur coast are in the supposed off-season, the non-summer months when the ocean tends to be a bit wilder, the winds blow stronger, and the visitors are fewer in number. Summer is often busy and not as scenic, with thick coastal fog in the morning and evening a frequent occurrence. Especially during fall and winter the passing Pacific weather fronts periodically scour out the clouds and the bring spectacular surf conditions.

Yet this photograph comes from summer. We had started back up the coast late in the day, a process that always has me contemplating a plan for the brief evening light interval — where do I want to be and what do I want to photograph. My plans often don’t play out exactly as I expected: the fog might block the sun, I might get held up photographing some unexpected subject. I made this photograph before the time for the last photograph of the day — those came a very short time later. From this spot the view overlooked a big action of the coastal waters, unusually calm and quiet, as the late afternoon light fell on the coastal bluffs and the afternoon haze turning into fog.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: mountains

Morning, Mountains, Desert Canyons

Dunes and Mountains, Twilight

Natural Bridge, Evening Fog, and Coastal Mountains

Sea Stack, Bluffs, Coastal Mountains

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.