Tag Archives: playa

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

View From A High Place

Image January 13, 2026 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Elsewhere in California on this early winter day the skies were cloudy and rain was in the air. But in Death Valley the skies were (partly) blue and the temperatures were comfortable. We had a little extra time between stops so we headed up to this popular little canyon late in the day. On the way back down we came across this place where the dark canyon opened in the bright valley.

There is a lot of “Death Valley stuff” in this photograph. The distant playa is just above sea level, and in places is covered by impressive sand dunes. The distant desert mountains tower thousands of feet above the lowlands. Because there is little to no vegetation on them, their geology is laid bare. The dark foreground walls are near the opening at the bottom of a grand desert wash.

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

Salt Flat Reflections

Image May 1, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The experience of making this photograph was perhaps as enjoyable as the scene itself. I was up very early and walked out to the edge of the salt flat a bit more than a half hour before sunrise. From earlier scouting I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be. Out there next to the playa it was utterly silent and still, and I was the only person there to witness the morning light coming to the Panamint Range and then the valley.

It may seem counterintuitive to go to Death Valley to photograph a mountain range reflected in still water. But out in the valley, a good distance from the roadways, there is essentially always water. It may be in pools and slowly evaporating or, as here, it flows slowly all year long. The water in the photo is probably less than an inch deep, but that’s enough to produce a fine reflection.

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Plaza de España Entry

Image June 18, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Playa de España Entry — “Plaza
”Plaza de España Entry” — An entry to the Plaza de España, Sevilla.

Sevilla (or “Seville,” in English) is one of the most magical and pleasant cities we visited in Spain during the summer of 2023. We stayed in the old part of the town, not far from the Catedral de Sevilla, and our hotel was on a street barely wide enough for people to pass one another. There was so much to see nearby that we restricted our visit to places to which we could walk. And one of those walks took us to the Maria Luisa Park and the Plaza de España.

The Plaza de España features a large central plaza backed by an impressive curved building that was constructed for an International Exposition a century ago. The photograph is just inside an entrance near the south tower of the structure, and the forms and beautiful light spoke to my fascination with those subjects.

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.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Half Submerged

Image May 30, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Part of what I love about this subject is how hard it is initially to understand exactly what we are looking at. (I wonder what you thought it was at first?) My first impression, at least when looking at small versions, is of sky and clouds. It is only when I look more closely that I realize that it is not that at all — it is the playa of Death Valley, where salt flats are partially submerged beneath the water of Lake Manly.

We usually direct our eyes parallel to the ground or perhaps upwards when we view the landscape. But on those occasions when we can look down at it from a distance we see it in a very different light. Features that are barely, if at all, visible from down below become the major points of interest. (There’s a lot more to see in this scene than first meets the eye.) And all of this is enhanced by the subjective feelings that come with looking out from any very high vantage point.