Tag Archives: plant

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

Holly in the Sun

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Holly in the Sun
A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Holly in the Sun. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Last week I made my first visit of the year to Death Valley National Park. I like to photograph there during the winter and again at the very beginning of spring. Despite the reputation of the place, it can be quite cold there in January, and I experienced a few windy and chilly moments. I made this photograph near the furthest point in a pleasant wander up a lovely wash that I happened into more or less by accident. I was near a ridge and the slanting afternoon light was still just catching the branches of this desert holly plant.

The circumstances of this afternoon’s walk were a reminder about one of the best ways to encounter the wild. I had gone out to scout a location for the next day’s dawn photography, and from my selected location I saw a small canyon dropping away. I almost didn’t enter it, but finally decide to walk “just a few feet” in to investigate. I did, and soon came to a junction with a much larger wash, and I couldn’t resist exploring. I started up, eventually going 15 minutes past my turn-around time, and finally ending up in a narrow, constricted, dark… and altogether fascinating little stretch of canyon that I need to explore again.

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

Kelp and Patterned Rocks

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Kelp and Patterned Rocks
Kelp on patterned rocks at the high tide line along the Central California coast.

Kelp and Patterned Rocks. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Kelp on patterned rocks at the high tide line along the Central California coast.

Almost everything about this day followed no plan at all. I knew I wanted to photograph along the coast, but wasn’t sure where. I headed toward the upper Big Sur coast, but as I passed Point Lobos I thought, “Maybe here.” But I kept going, until a couple of miles later when the answer came to me: “Yes, Point Lobos.” I turned around and headed back to the reserve. I drove in and made a habitual first stop at Whalers’ Cove, then stopped at Weston Beach. Thought I’d take a quick look. That quick look lasted well over an hour.

The conditions weren’t ideal for photographing big landscapes and seascapes. It was fairly gray with what Californians sometimes call “high fog” or “coastal clouds.” While these conditions aren’t great for long views, the soft light can work well for more intimate subjects. And in this particular spot there’s no end of little things to attract my attention: kelp, shells, colorful rocks cast up onto the underlying rock patterns of folded layers, reflections, and more. At one point someone asked what I was photographing, and when I answered “whatever I can find” they just looked at me like I was nuts.

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

Toward the Playa

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Toward the Playa
A dry wash heading toward the playa in late afternoon light, Death Valley National Park.

Toward the Playa. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A dry wash heading toward the playa in late afternoon light, Death Valley National Park.

This is one small desert wash, one occasional watercourse among uncounted numbers of them in this landscape. At the risk of repeating myself, this is yet another illustration of the ubiquitous presence of water in this desert. In prehistoric times, this was a very large lake, believe it or not, and the distant playa is essentially the lake’s remnant, a place were water still collects in wet years. When storms pass through and drop sometimes-torrential rain, these washes carry more water out to the low places.

On one hand this photograph could be seen as evidence of the role of water here. But when I look at it I think about the experience of walking across such terrain. (And because I do walk there sometimes, I go during the cooler times of the year!) When you start out, your goal seems not so far away. But distances are deceiving here, and your objective often ends up being much farther away. As I walk, there is a fascinating combination of senses — one is the feeling of being very tiny in an immense landscape, but another is an intense focus on immediate surroundings: the sound of wind, the clatter of stones, the footing changing as I move from rocks to sand, perhaps a breeze, the intensity of the light.

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

Dormant Desert Holly

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Dormant Desert Holly
A dormant desert holly plant against rocky backdrop in evening light.

Dormant Desert Holly. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A dormant desert holly plant against rocky backdrop in evening light.

Photographing this dormant desert holly bush was very much a last minute opportunity. Late in the afternoon we headed toward a prospective early evening subject, stopping along the way to photograph various other things as the light cooperated. Ironically, when we arrived at that intended subject several factors made it less appealing than expected, and I barely photographed it at all! We spent a few minutes there, and as the light began to decrease we moved on.

We were along the east side of Death Valley at the time. A big part of photographing in this landscape is learning the daily patterns of the light. Because of the very large mountain range on the west side, the direct light where we were ends well before sunset. This also produces an extended period of soft light in the shadow of that western range, when the landscape is still illuminated by the blue sky and sometimes by colorful clouds. I photographed this plant, set against a nearly barren and rocky hillside, as that soft evening light began to fade.

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 | 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.