Tag Archives: national

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

Dunes, Afternoon Light, Blowing Sand

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Dunes, Afternoon Light, Blowing Sand
Late afternoon light and blowing dust above Death Valley sand dunes

Dunes, Afternoon Light, Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon light and blowing dust above Death Valley sand dunes

Wind and blowing dust on sand dunes can produce an otherworldly and spectacular scene. They are also very difficult to work in — tough on equipment and tough on photographers! (I recently read some advice about entering the dunes during serious sand storms. Basically, the recommendation was, “don’t.” For the stubborn, who would do it anyway, the text continued with a recommendation to wear protective clothing, eye protection, and some kind of mask — perhaps towels soaked in water. Fun, eh?) The conditions on this occasion were not really that bad, probably not even as challenging as they might appear to be in the photograph, but it was an afternoon of blowing wind and sand.

We were in a section of low dunes, a distance away from the popular areas where the challenge seems to be to surmount the highest dune. In these lower areas there is plenty to see and photograph, and I usually prefer them to the less accessible and higher areas. Here there are plenty of plants growing in the same, and the more intimate landscape of hills and valleys provides endless subjects. As I was working that terrain I happened to look west toward the late day sun — barely out of the frame — to see the complex patters leading away on the closer dunes, the dark shape of the more distant tall dune, and the light shining through the wind-blown sand in the distance.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak Trees, Snow, Clouds

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Oak Trees, Snow, Clouds
Tall winter oak trees silhouetted against granite cliffs and snow-storm clouds

Oak Trees, Snow, Clouds. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tall winter oak trees silhouetted against granite cliffs and snow-storm clouds

Recently I spent a few more days in Yosemite, mostly in Yosemite Valley, working on my Yosemite Renaissances artist-in-residence project. We have settled on a theme for the exhibit, which will open on June 2, with a June 9 public reception. Since the timeline extended, I’ve decided to go beyond winter images and instead look at the transition from winter to spring. Hence, the title: “Transitions: Winter To Spring.” A group of friends and fellow photographers will also be part of the exhibit, and I’ll share more information very soon.

This week probably (though you can never be totally certain) marked the final real winter weather of the season in the Valley. A quick weather front swept through with surprising amounts of precipitation over a brief period, and it was cold enough for snow in the Valley. The snow wasn’t deep, but the cold temperatures allowed it to cover everything, including these lovely old black oak trees, photographed here against the background of clouds and mist and some of the rocky walls of The Valley.

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, Photographs: Southern California

Kit Fox Hills, Amargosa Range

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Kit Fox Hills, Amargosa Range
Amargosa Range mountains rise behind the Kit Fox Hills, Death Valley

Kit Fox Hills, Amargosa Range. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Amargosa Range mountains rise behind the Kit Fox Hills, Death Valley

These low, deeply eroded, and colorful (in the right light) Death Valley hills lie at the western base of the Amargosa Range near the start of the road heading north toward the Scotty’s Castle area. I recently read that they may be the remnants of an old earthquake fault along the eastern side of Death Valley, marking a division between the rising mountains and the sediment-filled valley. I have walked along the base of these hills, though I still need to find the time to more extensively explore their rugged and eroded landscape.

Late in the day they intercept almost the very last sunlight to reach the valley floor before sunset. With that in mind, I have photographed them many times, often from a good distance away across the valley. That was the case on this evening, when I found a spot elevated above the valley floor and climbed to its summit to watch the late-day light. It was one of those evenings when the light was unpredictable. There were clouds to the west above the Cottonwood mountains, which can turn out to be either a good thing or a bad thing. The clouds may light up at sunset and the minutes just after… or they may simply block the sun and “turn out the lights” on sunset photography. It looked like the latter might turn out to be the case as I watched the sun descend toward a band of thicker clouds. But there was a small gap between the base of the clouds and the top of the mountains, and the sunlight shone through this gap for a few minutes, casting beautiful soft light on these hills.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Conifer Bark

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Conifer Bark
Close-up of conifer tree bark, Yosemite Valley

Conifer Bark. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Close-up of conifer tree bark, Yosemite Valley

I’ve spent a total of perhaps a bit more than a week-and-a-half in Yosemite so far this season, beginning back in late February when I spent an unusually cold and snowy week mostly in Yosemite Valley photographing various aspects of the winter landscape. (An artist-in-residency through the Yosemite Renaissance was an important reason for that visit.) I was back again this past week, mostly thinking that I would be experience the “spring” half of the annual winter to spring transition — but once again arriving to snowy conditions. Yet the signs of spring were everywhere, too. Annual plants are poking up, here and there one can find a few early wildflowers, the dogwoods are just starting to leaf out, and the waterfalls are running strongly.

We often think of the “landscape” as being the immense scale of things in the natural world. But the grand landscape is the sum of many small components, and landscape photography has long paid attention to them individually, too. In a place like Yosemite, with its iconic big features, you might have to remind yourself to go look for the small things. One one recent day with so-so midday light, I put on my camera pack, grabbed my tripod, and just wandered slowly off into the forest, stopping frequently to consider my surroundings. Near the farthest point on this walk, I left the trail and walked into the forest and, for no particular reason, came upon a tree that seemed not all that different from all of the surrounding trees until I looked a bit closer and saw these remarkable bark patterns.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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