Tag Archives: mountains

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

Morning Light, Alluvial Fans

Image February 10, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light and haze over vast alluvial fan landscape, Death Valley National Park.

This is probably not the most traditionally “scenic” subject in Death Valley, and it is possible that it may not speak to everyone, especially those unfamiliar with the immense scale of the place and its potential for deep silence and stillness. But this is a spot that I keep going back to on mornings like this, when the first sunlight breaks over ridges to the east and shines through glowing haze is a slants cross these gigantic alluvial fans.

When you stop to consider the nature of the landscape in this park, you’ll eventually have a moment when it hits you just how much of the place consists of material that has been eroded and washed down from high places. The eroded material forms these gigantic washes, which can be miles long and wide.

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

Near Keane Wonder Mine

Image February 8, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rugged terrarin near the Keane Wonder Mine, Death Valley.

One morning on my recent photographic Death Valley trip I headed up the road from the Valley toward Beatty, Nevada. I didn’t plan to actually go to Beatty, butI wanted to learn a bit more about the closure of part of the read between the park and Beatty, to photograph some large-scale vistas, and perhaps to check out the area near the Keane Wonder Mine. I knew that the latter was closed for restoration work, but I thought I might be able to at least get close to it. It turned out that this was not the case, so I decided to photograph the landscape near the mine from a distance.

The mine was one of the more productive in Death Valley during the 1900s. Its works are extensive, and a lot of remnants are still there. (For years it was closed off due to safety concerns, but access was again permitted a few years agp.) Much of the area in the photograph is more or less natural landscape, but a closer look reveals tailings, the remains of a long pipe system that likely supplied water, and some other evidence of mining.

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

Desert Mountains, Morning Clouds

Image February 7, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Haze mutes the details of desert mountains topped by morning clouds, Death Valley National Park.

This photograph is the result of one of those “look what’s behind you!” moments. I was at a location where I had previously scouted sunrise subject. I arrived early, set up, and photographed that subject in the light that I had hoped for. Once finished, I paused to look around. In the opposite direction I saw this series of back-lit formations leading away toward the cloud-crested peak. It was time to rotate the camera on the tripod and work this subject, too!

Haze can be the photographers’ friend or foe in Death Valley. It often cannot be avoided photographs made across any sort of distance — and sometimes the distances in this park are huge. The haze may be an impediment a clear view of a distant mountain range. But it also can produce a lovely atmosphere if the conditions and light are just right.

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

Red Cliffs, Sunrise

Image February 6, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunrise light on Red Cliffs and badlands, Death Valley National Park.

There is a little story behind this photograph of the Red Cliffs, an almost-icon in Death Valley. The feature is a striking, eroded formation close to a famous park location. I decided to photograph here on the final morning of my recent visit to the park since I was looking for something that I could visit early and still have time to pack up my nearby camp and begin the long drive home. Of course, timing wasn’t the only issue — I had explored the location earlier and found it to be pretty interesting!

The window for the best sunrise light here is brief, since the light doesn’t get here right away. It arrives soon enough that it still has the golden hour character, but that starts to fade quickly. One thing I like about this perspective is that it places the distant, haze-shrouded peaks right behind Red Cliffs. (What I like less is that a very close inspection may reveal a place in the scene where a lot of sunrise spectators are standing!)

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: mountains

Morning Light, Alluvial Fans

Near Keane Wonder Mine

Desert Mountains, Morning Clouds

Red Cliffs, Sunrise

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