Tag Archives: national park

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite School and Bank Ruins

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Rhyolite Bank and School Ruins
Rhyolite Bank and School Ruins. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ruins of the school and bank at sunrise in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. Rhyolite is a mining ghost town just east of the California/Nevada border between Death Valley National Park and Beatty, Nevada.

When we arrived at Rhyolite just before dawn, it looked like the light was perhaps not going to cooperate. While parts of the sky were quite blue, there was a layer of clouds to the east where the sun was rising. At times the light turned out to be flat and gray, but every so often it would come through the clouds and wash the scene in this wonderful warm light.

keywords: ruins, school, bank, building, ghost, town, rhyolite, nevada, usa, desert, mine, mining, desert, sky, death valley, national park, mountains, wall, rocks, sunrise, morning, stock, historic, landscape, travel, stock

Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the Stovepipe sand dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the distance. Death Valley National Park.

This is another of the “long lens landscapes” that I’ve been experimenting with recently – this one having been shot with a 400mm lens.

keywords: stovepipe, dunes, wells, funeral, mountains, morning, black and white, death valley, national park, shadow, angle, sand, desert, ridge, peak, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, california, usa

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Death Valley from Aguereberry Point

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Death Valley from Aguereberry Point

Death Valley from Aguereberry Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the early evening view of Death Valley from Aguereberry Point as the shadow of the Panamint Range begins to extend across the Valley.

Aguereberry Point provides an astonishing viewpoint over Death Valley and a 360 degree panorama that extends to the southern Sierra Nevada range.

keywords: death valley, national park, aguereberry, point, panamint, mountains, range, evening, shadows, panorama, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa, stock, view, desert, ridge, peak

Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds

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Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds

Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stovepipe Wells Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and morning clouds, Death Valley National Park, California. After shooting early farther out in the dunes, I encountered this scene while starting my hike back to my car.

It is interesting to note the number of ways in which this photograph was the result of serendipity. First, I went to the back side of the dunes rather than the more typical sections. Second, I had pretty much finished my shooting (yeah, right!) and was heading back to the car. Third, I just happened to wander up on this particular dune – almost didn’t go there at all. Fourth, the light was nothing like this when I first saw it – this section was mostly in shadow. Fifth, those wonderful clouds that mirror the texture of the dune surface just happened to float into the scene as the light came across the top of the dune to illuminate this section of the sand.

(This photograph brings to mind an Ansel Adams quote: “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” Adams also offer a critique of God: “Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships!” ;-)

keywords: Tucki, mountain, sky, clouds, stovepipe, wells, sand, dune, peak, desert, morning, ripples, death valley, national park, california, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, black and white, stock