Tag Archives: park

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

Desert Ranges

Image Leave a comment
Desert Ranges
A view from the Panamint Mountains across Death Valley toward mountains near Las Vegas.

Desert Ranges. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A view from the Panamint Mountains across Death Valley toward mountains near Las Vegas.

This is another in the “very long views” series. Like another recent photograph, it also comes from the crest of the Panamint Mountains, though this time looking generally east. As such, the view extends across Death Valley (over 6000 feet below), then over the Black Mountains, the Amargosa Range, and across the Amargosa Valley to a snow-capped ridge close to Las Vegas, Nevada. (in the full size version of this photograph remarkable details become visible — a parking lot near Artist Palette, utility poles along the road out of Death Valley.)

There is a bit of a story about the lighting in this scene. It is essentially front-lit, with the light coming from behind my camera position and shining directly on the subject. Typically, this would be about the worst kind of lighting for a landscape subject, especially when haze is present, since it produces almost no shadows and very little visibility of details. But here something compensates, namely the shadows of broken clouds which introduce some shadows into the scene and help us sense its depth.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Forest and Fog

Image Leave a comment
Coastal Forest and Fog
Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Coastal Forest and Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

When people imagine visiting the California coast, I’m pretty sure that most of them envision a beach, blue water, surf, clear skies, and abundant sun. That happens, in some locations more than others, but coastal fog is about as likely as that fantasy weather. It can be cold and damp and gray, but this California weather also has its charms — the sound of surf coming up through the fog, the chill air, the muted colors.

This photograph comes from a visit to a location south of Monterey on a very foggy morning. Most often the fog clears out early, but this time it stuck around all morning. (Though a short distance inland the sun was out.) I pointed the camera into a forest of fall trees, and the fog created a sense of atmospheric recession.

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.

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

From the Panamints to the Sierra

Image Leave a comment
From the Panamints to the Sierra
The long view from the crest of the Panamint Range in Death Valley to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

From the Panamints to the Sierra. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The long view from the crest of the Panamint Range in Death Valley to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

While details are somewhat obscured due to haze, this view stretches from the crest of Death Valley National Park’s Panamint Range all the way to southern summits of the Sierra Nevada. The distance here is quite impressive — my estimate is that those peaks are perhaps 80 miles away or so. If you look closely, you can see that the ridges just across Panamint Valley — two ridges before the Sierra — are topped with recent snowfall, even on this early spring date.

The haze tends to sit in the valleys between the mountain ranges, but it also extends higher into the atmosphere, thus hiding almost all details of the distance Sierra Nevada. The late-afternoon backlight contributes to the effect. Despite the hard edges of ridge lines this light brings a softness to the scene.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Above the Fog

Image Leave a comment
Above the Fog
A monterey cypress on a rocky hill a obove fog shrouded coastline, Point Lobos.

Above the Fog.. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A monterey cypress on a rocky hill a obove fog shrouded coastline, Point Lobos.

This was a beautiful morning at the Point Lobos State Reserve along the upper Big Sur coast south of Monterey, California. I arrived to find thick fog — which is a good thing! It stuck around longer that usual, gradually lifting and thinning, starting to allow a bit of filtered, directional light in, and then dissipating. When I made this photograph the fog was still low, so low that at times it drifted below my camera position along the edge of a coastal cliff.

In different light this tree might produce a bright scene, but in this fog the effect is darker. I positioned myself just to the side of the tree, enough to make the far headland visible. It isn’t easy to see from the photograph, but to my left here was a substantial drop-off straight to the ocean.

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.