Tag Archives: panamint

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

Desert Mountains, Sunrise

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Desert Mountains, Sunrise
“Desert Mountains, Sunrise” — Winter sunrise clouds above Death Valley National Park desert mountains.

The mountains of Death Valley National Park have a very different quality than the familiar desert landscapes of the lowlands. They are often quiet, lonely places. In the winter they can be cold, with snow on the highest peaks. We arrived at this spot high in the Panamint Mountains well before sunrise and then stuck around to photograph as the light transitioned from intense dawn colors to something a bit subtler.

One feature of Death Valley that is unusual among the national parks is its history of prospecting and mining. It is not unusual to find the remnants of those endeavors in surprising and rugged places. If you look very closely at this photograph (you may need to click to enlarge it) you may spot some evidence of this history.

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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

Manly Lake, Mountains and Clouds

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Manly Lake, Mountains and Clouds
“Manly Lake, Mountains and Clouds” — Distant desert mountains and clouds reflected in the surface of Manly Lake, Death Valley.

Lake Manly, the ancient body of water that occasionally reestablishes itself on the floor of Death Valley in wet years, has many moods. Before sunrise or at sunset, if there are clouds, it can reflect intensely colorful light from the sky.. As sunlight strikes the peaks of the Panamint Range, their golden light colors the water. Later in the day, especially if it is hazy, the scene can become soft and pastel.

On this winter solstice morning we began photographing before sunrise and continued through all of the light phases. I made this photograph after the warm sunrise light had dissipated, and when haze made blue the predominant color. The symmetry of the reflections abstracts the shapes of mountains and clouds.

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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

Wading Lake Manly

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Wading Lake Manly
“Wading Lake Manly” — A person wades in the shallow water of Lake Manly, with early morning Death Valley mountains reflected in the water.

Even after photographing for decades, I’m still often astonished by how the presence of a small human figure can crystallize and focus a scene. (To understand this, use your finger to cover the person and note how different the photograph feels.) I’m not sure if it is simply due to adding a focal point or something about how our brains respond to the presence of other people.

Since I was photographing the reflections of the Panamint Mountains in Lake Manly, at first I was mildly annoyed that this person was wandering around in the scene. However, I was able to shoot around her with little difficulty — and after a while I realized that she could be the central element of a photograph suggesting our relationship to this desert landscape.

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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

Lake Manly Sky

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Lake Manly Sky
“Lake Manly Sky” — Early morning clouds and the Panamint Mountains reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

As a landscape photographer I spend a lot of time trying to predict the light. But it is a fickle thing, and it often changes in ways that cannot be anticipated. That was the case on this winter solstice morning in Death Valley. We drove down to Badwater to photograph Lake Manly, the occasional lake that forms on the playa after heavy rains. We arrived before sunrise, and for a brief moment the light was brilliantly intense… before the sun moved behind clouds to the east, laving a softer effect.

The mountains fell mostly into shadow, and because of their distance the details were obscured, leaving us with the shape of the range and its reflection in the water of Lake Manly. Some of the first dawn color remained, but the effect was more subtle and muted, with colors ranging from warm tones in the brightest areas of clouds to deep blue in the far distance beyond the mountains.

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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.