This little geological vignette intrigued me. While exploring an area in Death Valley featuring very dark, fine gravel that almost has the appearance of shallow dunes, I came across low flat areas where water has obviously collected in the past. Now there was a surface of old mud, cracked into separate pieces as it dried, a familiar desert sight. But here this surface was pockmarked with small black stones.
Continue reading Mud And Stones
This was one of the first photographs I made on our late-February visit to Death Valley National Park. It was literally the first time I took the camera out after arriving, and the second exposure I made. We had entered the Valley, crossed it, and were starting our drive toward Beatty, Nevada. I felt that the scene encapsulated the scale of this valley and the surrounding desert mountains, and the patch of desert gold flowers was the icing on the cake.
When arriving at a location after a very long drive, it can be tempting to just set up camp or go to the hotel and crash. But I prefer to take the camera out and at least “prime the pump” by making a few photographs. That helps get things going, and marks my switch to photographer mode for the rest of the visit.
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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
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I have photographed in Death Valley National Park for almost three decades. I have heard whispered rumors of this remarkable “Blue Playa” for years, but no one would share anything definite about it. All I knew was that somewhere in a remote and seldom-visited area of this vast park there was purportedly a small playa featuring astonishingly colorful soil which, in the right lighting conditions, is so blue that it rivals the color of a clear sky. This has been on my mind for years.
Since those who know weren’t talking, it was clear that I’d have to do some sleuthing. All I knew was that the place is remote, surrounded by difficult mountains, and not terribly large. Out of respect for the feature — and concern about potential damage should the location become widely known — I’m going to omit specific details. But here’s as much of the story as I can share publicly.
Continue reading Blue Playa
A spectacular cloud deck floated above Death Valley on this winter morning. While the clouds were a bit too thick to let brilliant sunrise colors develop, they created a very dramatic sky and its reflection on the surface of Lake Manly. The photograph looks north across the lake from its salty southern shoreline.
In other photographs of this subject I have tried to to fill the frame with sky and reflecting water. In this case I decided to include some of the salt-crusted shoreline of the lake in the foreground, and I used a wide angle lens in order to include more of the scene, and especially the sky.
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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.