Tag Archives: national

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

Panamint Range Snow, Evening Light

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Panamint Range Snow, Evening Light
Late-day light illuminates snow covered ridges and thin forest along the summit of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

Panamint Range Snow, Evening Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Late-day light illuminates snow covered ridges and thin forest along the summit of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

The reputation of Death Valley National Park is mostly tied to heat — the desert, the dunes, the rare rainfall. I once asked German relatives why they choose to visit in the middle of summer when few of us would choose to go there. The answer, more or less, was that Death Valley is famous for being the hottest place on earth, and that is what they wanted to experience. People who “know” the park from that perspective are often shocked to find that snow is common here in the mountains.

When we visited the Panamint Mountains at the beginning spring the snow was plentiful, and we actually experienced a moderate snow squall. (One of the oddest experiences I’ve had in this park was some years back when we photographed spring wildflowers during a snow storm in Death Valley. Let that one sink in for a moment.) Late on this day we went to a high overlook to wait for sunset, and the warm light illuminated this nearby ridge in the very late afternoon.

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, Photographs: Southern California

Entering the Dunes

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Entering the Dunes
Footprints lead into the sand dune landscape.

Entering the Dunes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Footprints lead into the sand dune landscape.

Most of our landscape photographs try to present the landscape without obvious human presence. I write “obvious” because it is hard to find any place where no human effects are present. Sometimes photographers are criticized for presenting the illusion that this isn’t so. While I think the point is important, the criticism is unwarranted and based on its own untenable notion of what wilderness is. In any case, the inclusion of a more overt human element in photographs can encourage us to think of these places in a different way.

We often strive to photograph dunes after sand storms, when footprints have been erased. But including such things can also engage us in the landscape in useful ways — if nothing else they urge viewers to imagine themselves in these places. The footprints here are somewhat subtle, but I think that we relate to the scene differently when we see a line of footprints leading into it.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Creosote Bush and Dunes

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Creosote Bush and Dunes
A lone creosote bush among sand dunes, Death Valley.

Creosote Bush and Dunes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A lone creosote bush among sand dunes, Death Valley.

The sand dunes often surprise first-time visitor with much more evidence of life than they might expect. We tend to think of dunes as being…. just sand. They are largely sand, but things live and grow out there, too — from reptiles, birds, and mammals to all kinds of highly adapted plants. In fact, sometimes when I’m trying to photograph a landscape of “just sand” I have to work to keep the other stuff out of the frame!

The bushes are well adapted to the dunes. While the lower branches eventually die and turn brown, in spring the upper portion of the plant can be intensely green and covered with small yellow flowers. On a windless day you might be surprised by the hum of bees swarming the flowers!

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Rooted in Stone

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Rooted in Stone
A mature tree growing in cracks in a fractured Yosemite cliff.

Rooted in Stone. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A mature tree growing in cracks in a fractured Yosemite cliff.

Even as I work on new photographs, I return to old files to see what I have missed — and there is always something to discover. When I look at photographs long after I made them it seems like I can see them for what they are more than for what I expected them to be. I don’t recall the specific circumstances of making the photograph… and sometimes I don’t remember making it at all!

I know I made this on a very quick swing through Yosemite Valley as we returned from a few days in Oakhurst for the opening of a show. At this point, the specific details of visits to Yosemite Valley tend to blur together, since I’ve visited the place since I was about five years old. How many times total? Scores? Hundreds? I can’t say. But I’m still amazed that trees like this one can grow in such unlikely places.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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