Tag Archives: peak

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

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Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise light on the ruins of the bank building and other old structures in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada with the Amargosa Range and snow-covered Telescope Peak beyond in Death Valley National Park, California.

I was very lucky to get almost (more on that in a moment) perfect conditions for photographing the ruins of Rhyolite, Nevada when I visited there at dawn on April 1 this year. I’ve visited twice, and both times high thin clouds were in the sky before sunrise. On the previous trip the clouds interfered with the sunrise light, but time beautiful warm light came beneath the clouds right at a dawn and washed the old ghost town with color. Better yet, this same light also illuminated the Amargosa Range across the valley and even snow-capped Telescope peak, the highest point in Death Valley National Park at over 11,000′ elevation. And there is more – the high clouds added a slightly dark texture to the early morning sky. There were only two of us there to witness this beautiful morning at Rhyollite – and I regret not getting the name of the other photographer. (I think he may live in the area. He started out shooting a Nikon SLR system and soon moved to a MF system. I’d love to see the photos he got of this scene!) So, what made it almost perfect as opposed to just plain perfect? In a word, “wind.” The wind was howling on this morning, to the point that camera shake was an issue even on the tripod!

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

keywords: sunrise, dawn, rhyolite, nevada, ghost town, ruins, bank, building, wall, tower, brick, door, window, rock, wall, abandoned, amargosa, range, mountains, desert, valley, panamint, telescope, peak, snow, capped, sky, clouds, blue, gully, light, death valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, travel, scenic, historic, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light

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Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light

Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail view of a section of the base of Tucki Mountain in early morning light – near Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California.

I had started this early April morning by hiking around to the back side of Mesquite Dunes near Stovepipe Wells before sunrise. After shooting sunrise in and around the dunes I decided to make some photographs of Tucki Mountain, a massive peak that towers above the Dunes and Stovepipe Wells and dominates the view of this part of the Valley. Here the very early sunlight is slanting across the lower slopes of the mountain from the left with the light catching the folded textures of this rugged peak. This photograph is a stitch of three 12MP photographs.

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

keywords: detail, view, tucky, mountain, base, wash, rugged, valley, ridge, peak, barren, rock, early, morning, light, death valley, national park, stovepipe wells, mesquite dunes, scenic, travel, landscape, california, usa, nature, shadow, texture, fan, geology, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Panamint Range, Light Beams

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Panamint Range, Light Beams

Panamint Range, Light Beams. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light beams over the Panamint Range beyond the salt flats, Death Valley National Park, California.

Last April (2008) I was in DV for few days to photograph all around the area. One afternoon my brother and I drove to the south with a plan of photographing the salt formations near Badwater in the late afternoon and early evening light. As we got there we saw these tremendous light beams (a.k.a. “God Light”) coming through the clouds that had gathered over the ridge of the Panamint range to the west, and illuminating the arroyos along the east side of the range and occasionally the valley floor in the distance.

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

keywords: salt, flats, death, valley, national park, playa, light, beams, god light, panamint, mountains, range, telescope, peak, ridge, atmospheric recession, clouds, sun, light, snow, arroyo, wash, sky, scenic, travel, landscape, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens, Forest, and Snow Showers – North Lake

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Aspens, Forest, and Snow Showers - North Lake

Aspens, Forest, and Snow Showers – North Lake. Sierra Nevada, California, October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early autumn snow falls on peaks above the aspen groves at North Lake, California.

I had arrived at North Lake on this early October morning to photograph the renowned aspen stands surrounding the lake. After arriving before dawn and getting all of my gear out and ready to shoot… it began to snow! I retreated to my car for nearly an hour, but soon the early season front passed through and the sun began to shine through in between the light snow showers. This photograph was made from the road near the “aspen tunnel” near the upper end of the lake. I like the multiple layers of bright fall aspen color in the foreground, green forest on the ridge in the middle, and the combination of thin sunlight and snow showers on the high peaks beyond.

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

keywords: aspen, tree, grove, color, yellow, red, orange, gold, forest, ridge, mountain, snow, squall, flurry, peak, cloud, mist, fog, rock, north lake, california, usa, sierra, nevada, range, alpine, bishop, creek, nature, autumn, fall, season, scenic, landscape, travel, stock