Tag Archives: plant

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

First Light, Dunes and Creosote

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First Light, Dunes and Creosote
Blossoming spring creosote plants among the sand dunes at first light.

First Light, Dunes and Creosote. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blossoming spring creosote plants among the sand dunes at first light.

I love early morning in the sand dunes. When photographing there I typically arrive well before sunrise, when there is just a hint of light in the sky. In Death Valley this is mostly a very quiet time of the day, often with few other visitors, when the winds have died down yet the temperatures are still comfortable. The ideal morning is preceded by a windy afternoon the day before and into the evening, which may wipe away many of the footprints from the previous day’s visitors. However, walking into the dunes I always find new “footprints” — of mice and reptiles and other desert residents.

The transition of morning dusk light to full sunlight always amazes me, even after experiencing it many times. At first things move slowly though inexorably as the overall sky begins to gradually lighten. Well before actual sunrise there is quite a bit of light, but it is soft and gentle light, generally with a blue tint from the pre-sunrise sky. (I made this photograph at just about this point.) Then the pace accelerates as the first direct sunlight strikes some high point, generally to my west, and the light begins to transition to the saturated reddish colors of sunrise and work its way to lower elevations. By this time I’m engaged in photographing and usually working fast as the light changes very quickly. As the sun rises above the horizon or a mountain ridge a brief moment of soft, direct light begins, but the light quickly becomes intense and the difference between shadow and highlights becomes very large. Before long the coloration of this intense light diminishes and conditions move toward “just plain daylight.” I photograph a bit longer… and then it is time for a break!

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Wild Sweet Pea Flowers

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Wild Sweet Pea Flowers
Wild sweet pea flowers, Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Wild Sweet Pea Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wild sweet pea flowers, Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

I made this photograph on a short hike along a familiar trail, one where I’ve gone to see wildflowers for several decades. It is not quite as exotic a location as some I travel to — in fact, it only took me about two hours to get there, do my hike, make my photographs, and return home for dinner! There’s a hint there, too — I did not photograph during the typical very early or very late hours. Instead I made this during the late afternoon. That works well in this spot since it is in a deep canyon, and the light is subdued even during main daylight hours.

I am far from an expert on wildflowers! In fact there are only a few that I can consistently name. Yet, even when I cannot recall the names — an issue I’ve always had — I recall the flowers themselves, the time of year and location where I’ll find them, and other features that characterize them.

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Sand, Branches, Shadows

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Sand, Branches, Shadows
Shadows of dried branches on windblown sand dunes

Sand, Branches, Shadows. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows of dried branches on windblown sand dunes.

A small group of photographers ventured into the dunes early on this late-winter morning, starting out from the nearby roadway in pre-dawn darkness. As we walked the sky began to get lighter and before long we could begin to make our our surroundings and our destination in an out-of-the-way area of dunes. Along the way we were surprised — though in retrospect we should not have been — by muddy areas still soaked by recent rains.

The sun still was not up when we arrived at the edge of the dunes. As a group of five photographers we encountered a slight challenge — compared to when we photograph such places alone, we found that we had to consider every step regarding how our tracks would potentially intrude on our partners’ photographs! While dunes are mostly sand, there is quite a lot of life there, too. Early in the morning it is common to find the tracks of lizards, snakes, birds, and even small animals. Here and there plant life can be found, too. These spindly branches mostly looked dead, though a few retained the color of living plants and might soon put out a few post-rain leaves.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Colorful Rocks, Lichen

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Colorful Rocks, Lichen
A shadowed rock face with red lichen

Colorful Rocks, Lichen. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A shadowed rock face with red lichen

This photograph looks at some details that might be easy to overlook. The rock face was located along a trail we walked on our way to our base camp for nearly a week of Sierra Nevada backcountry photography, and we ended up camping perhaps a half mile from this spot. Most of my focus was on higher terrain, but later during our visit I found the time to walk down-canyon to this spot and photograph this wall.

Several things were striking about this feature. From a personal perspective, I was surprised that I had completely ignore such an interesting source of intimate landscapes when I walked past it the first time. Now, as I revisited it, I realized that the light here was quite special, with some reflections from bright, high peaks across the valley, and additional light coming from the blue sky, with both sources filling in soft light. Here and there small plants found a foothold in cracks, and colorful lichens, ranging from intense reds and oranges through bright greens and yellows grew on the face.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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