Tag Archives: park

Locations

Answering Some Death Valley Photography Questions

7 Comments

“Dave” wrote to ask some questions about Death Valley in February, and I thought it might be useful to share my replies with others who are thinking about a visit to that localation.

• Jeep Wrangler good idea for the area and to get into the Racetrack?

First, I’ve posted here a few times about the logistics of visiting and photographing at the Racetrack – you might want to take a look at this post.

A Jeep Wrangler should get you out to the Racetrack Playa just fine. The main difficulties with the road involve very badly washboarded surface, some very gravelly spots (especially near the start), and the fact that you’ll cover 27 miles of this stuff one way. It is not a particularly steep or twisty road. In normal conditions I would feel OK doing it in a two wheel drive vehicle as long as it had good ground clearance and good tires – and the Wrangler should qualify.

Unless you want to drive (too) fast and risk tire damage, you’ll want to give yourself perhaps a couple hours one way. Continue reading Answering Some Death Valley Photography Questions →

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Creek, Muir Woods

Leave a comment
Redwood Creek, Muir Woods
Redwood Creek, Muir Woods

Redwood Creek, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water cascades over moss covered rocks along Redwood Creek at Muir Woods National Monument.

I made this photograph on a low-light end-of-autumn day at Muir Woods where the first bridge on the main trail loop crosses over Redwood Creek. It was no problem getting a long enough exposure in this low light – in fact, the main technical issue here involved waiting for a break in the tourist hiker traffic across the bridge, since the bridge is small and tends to bounce!

I love Muir Woods during the dark and damp season of late fall and early winter. The direct sunlight does not often make it down into the bottom of this cold canyon at this time of year. The light is almost always soft and diffused and when everything is a bit wet – e.g. most of the time – the colors becomes intense and saturated.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, fall, season, autumn, water, cascade, redwood, creek, leaves, leaf, stick, moss, flow, motion, soft, muir, woods, monument, bridge, 1, rock, nature, landscape, forest, grove

Locations

Point Lobos and Beyond

3 Comments

The weather service was reporting very large surf along the Pacific coast today, so I decided to head down towards Point Lobos and do some photography. It seems that I wasn’t the only one! Point Lobos was so packed that there was no parking left, and many cars were parked out on the highway. I changed plans, kept driving south, and ended up shooting along the Big Sur coast instead.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Autumn Leaves, Muir Woods

Leave a comment

Autumn Leaves, Muir Woods
Autumn Leaves, Muir Woods

Autumn Leaves, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful late autumn leaves in the redwood forest of Muir Woods National Monument, California.

These leaves represent more or less the last gasp of autumn color at Muir Woods – the photograph was taken just a few days before the winter solstice. Although I’ve visited Muir Woods a number of times of a period of many years, during this past year I have done quite a bit of photography there, and with this series of photographs I feel like I’ve gone through a full season with the park. As I wandered through the main groves twice during the last half of December I really had a strong feeling of concluding a year of growth in the forest… and of shooting this subject. It was fitting that on this visit I saw for the first time one of the first flowers to come up as a new cycle begins, the fetid adders’ tongue and its subtle but beautiful flower. This got me thinking about and looking forward to the cycle of renewal that will soon begin again in this park.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, three, leaves, fall, autumn, color, green yellow, redwood, forest, grove, tree, plant, nature, foliage, branch, muir, woods, monument, marin, county, stock