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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Photographers

Photographer, Death Valley

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Photographer, Death Valley
Photographer Patricia Emerson Mitchell at work in Death Valley National Park

Photographer, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. March 30, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Patricia Emerson Mitchell at work in Death Valley National Park

Patricia Emerson Mitchell at work in the desert landscape of Death Valley National Park in morning light. Our morning here started much earlier, well before sunrise, and we walked out across the playa and around the side of dunes before sunrise. We arrived at the dunes just as the first light arrived, hitting the mountains to our west and then working its way down to the valley floor and across to us. Landscape photography might seem like a rather leisurely pursuit — after all, mountains don’t move much! — but at these times of marginal light things can happen very quickly.

We continued photographing after sunrise, enjoying the chance to explore the nearly endless subjects among the forms and colors and textures of the dunes. Eventually the sun would rise high enough to diminish the beauty of the light and it would be time to leave. It was perhaps approaching that time when I stopped atop a low dune and saw Patty photographing across the landscape, with her long shadow extending in front of her camera and the distant mountains of the Panamint Range rising in beyond.

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

Narrow Canyon, Hiker

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Narrow Canyon, Hiker
A hiker passes through a narrow section of a desert canyon.

Narrow Canyon, Hiker. Death Valley National Park, California. March 30, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A hiker passes through a narrow section of a desert canyon.

Almost anywhere you are in desert country, canyons can be attractive places on days that might not be so enjoyable out in the open. They are often protected from wind — and in Death Valley, at least on this trip, that also meant protected from dust storms. Their light is frequently appealing during midday hours where many other locations are experiencing harsh flat light —  in canyons the midday light can reflect down among the canyon walls and look beautiful at almost any time of day. They can also be cooler, with high walls that protect from the hottest sun.

Between morning and evening photography we decided we would take a hike up this canyon — not the most popular in the park but not the least visited either, so we shared the experience with some other hikers. The approach to this canyon took us across the lower face of an arid mountain range, then dropped into a wash and started to ascend, with tall canyon walls quickly ascending both sides of the canyon. In places this canyon is impressively narrow, and everywhere it is very deep. While it has some of the water-formed features that are common to all such canyons, these Death Valley canyons have a rugged and rough-hewn character that is quite different from that of the popular Utah canyons.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Creosote Bush, Dunes, Morning

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Creosote Bush, Dunes, Morning
“Creosote Bush, Dunes, Morning” — A creosote bush among sand dunes, morning

When I go to Death Valley I usually have a long list of places I want visit — ridges, canyons, playas, trails, and more. Even when I am there for a week, I usually run out of time before I run out of places. Perhaps for this reason I have sometimes not given enough of my time to the dunes. I have photographed them quite a few times, but they often end up being one thing on the agenda that is full of other subjects. However, on this recent trip I visited the dunes much more, walking out into them on three occasions and photographing them from greater distances, too. I photographed them at more or less all times of the day, and in conditions ranging from clear sky to clearing storms and even blowing dust.

I made this photograph on a morning when a weather front was moving past, leaving some clouds in its wake above the Amargosa range along the east side of the valley. We began photographing before dawn, and worked through the rapidly changing light as the sun rose above the mountains. Clouds periodically interrupted the light, but this meant that from moment to moment almost any kind of light was possible — full direct sun, light muted by thin clouds, the soft light from overcast — and that different light often appeared at different locations in the scene. When I saw and composed this photograph the light was initially very soft, but by the time I made this last exposure the sun was beginning to come out from behind clouds and highlight the textures, curves, and lines of the sand, and the play of light and shadow.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Wash and Mountains

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Desert Wash and Mountains
A golden desert wash descends toward distant mountains and a valley.

Desert Wash and Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A golden desert wash descends toward distant mountains and a valley.

This beautiful wash is very (very!) close to one of the iconic Death Valley stopping places. I’ve never been able to warm up to that particular spot as a photographic subject. Fortunately, even time I go there I look in a slightly different direction — and I often seem to be the only person looking that way — and find this lovely view.

We visited near the end of the day, as afternoon sunlight begins to take on the warm tones of early evening and shadows start to stretch across the valley. Once again, I stopped at this well-known place. Once again I thought it was interesting, but not quite what I wanted to photograph. And, once again, I looked downhill and away to see this wash. The light highlighted the different colors of the geological deposits here, with yellow material lining the path of the wash and the middle distance hills darker and holding tones that are more reddish. The path of the wash winds sinuously back and forth as it descends between the lowering walls, with shadow on one side and sun on the other.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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