Tag Archives: prints

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

Dunes, Eureka Valley, Morning

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Dunes, Eureka Valley, Morning - Morning light and haze at the Eureka Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.
Morning light and haze at the Eureka Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

Dunes, Eureka Valley, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. January 6. 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light and haze at the Eureka Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

This seems like a typical desert scene, right? Hot, arid, a bit of summer haze… It may look that way, but it was 28 degrees when I made this photograph!

At the tail end of my early January photography visit to Death Valley National Park I went north from the Ubehebe Crater area on the long gravel route up to the remote Eureka Valley Dunes, which are described as the tallest dunes in the United States, being nearly 700 feet tall. I decided to visit here at the end of my trip for several reasons – first, believe it or not, I had not been to this major feature in the park before. Second, because the trans-Sierra passes were still open in the strange weather year, by going out the north end of the park I figured I could shorten my drive back to the Bay Area a bit.

I arrived the night before, just in time to shoot a little bit as the last light came and went. Then I spent a very cold night “camping” in the back of my car. I was up reasonably early, but it was so cold that it was very hard to get out of the sleeping bag. Finally I did so, and I put on all my warm clothes and marched around the camping area trying to warm up a bit. Finally, after the morning sun topped the tall ridge to the east, the light arrived and my world began to warm up a bit. Eventually I packed up and started my trip back out to civilization. But first I wanted to stop a ways out in the valley and do some long shots back towards the dunes. This is one of those photographs, made from a ways down the road using a long lens.

Somewhat surprisingly, when I finally got back in my car a bit after 9:00 a.m. and long after the sun arrived, I finally thought to check the outside temperature on my car’s thermometer. At about 9:15, out in the valley, and in the sun… the temperature had finally risen… to 28 degrees!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Community, Events, News, Shows

The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit

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The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit
Opening Reception: November 9, 2011, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Free

Exhibit runs through December 3rd.

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, Duboce Park
San Francisco, California 94117
(415) 554-9522

“In 1991, ten pioneering Bay Area photographers displayed their work as “The Nocturnes” in a curated show on night photography. Twenty years later, The Nocturnes are still having “full moon gatherings”, educating new photographers, and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded artists that realize that some of the best photos are taken after the sun sets. This curated exhibit is a retrospective on the work of some of the most well-known night photographers as well as those just getting started.” (From the event web site.)

I’m pleased to say that two of my prints will be included in this show. If you are a San Francisco Bay Area night photographer, a fan of night (and other) photography, or happen to be visiting the area, I invite you to drop in and see some wonderful night photography by a diverse and talented group of photographers. Maybe I’ll see you at the opening reception on November 9!

Commentary, News, Photographs: Death Valley, Site News

G Dan Mitchell Photographs at Stovepipe Wells

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G Dan Mitchell Photographs, Stovepipe Wells Lodge
G Dan Mitchell Photographs, Stovepipe Wells Lodge

Stovepipe Wells Lodge – G Dan Mitchell photographs. Death Valley National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Since several people have asked, I thought I would share an update on installation of my photographs at the historic Stovepipe Wells Lodge in Death Valley National Park. Late last year Ortega Family Enterprises (who also sell some of my photographs at Muir Woods National Monument) contacted me. They were about to take over the management of the facility from the previous concessionaire and were interested in selling some of my Death Valley photographs in the gift shop at Stovepipe Wells.

It turns out that they were also planning some significant upgrades to the lodging facilities at Stovepipe and they asked if I could provide a large number of 16″ x 24″ prints for the guest rooms. To make a long story short, they selected a half dozen of my Death Valley photographs and I went to work making nearly 170 prints of the six photographs, which were then shipped off to their framer for final preparation.

I finally got a chance to see the results when I visited Death Vally in early April. I stopped by and found out that they had begun the process of hanging the prints in guest rooms, and with the help of an employee I was able to get in long enough to snap a shot of one of the rooms. (Hanging in this room are “Transverse Dunes, Death Valley“ and “Crossing Tracks, Racetrack Playa.”) It was also good to see some work being done to upgrade and update the lodge!

It is gratifying to have my photographs installed here for several reasons. Several of the photographs were made virtually within walking distance of Stovepipe Wells, where I often camp when I visit the Valley. I also know that among the many people who visit Stovepipe will be a good number of my fellow photographers – and knowing that they will see my prints here is both a bit intimidating and a quite exciting! Finally, before Ortega took over the facility I often stopped to look at some of the photographs and paintings that had been there previously. (I was glad to see that one wonderful black and white photograph was still hanging in the hotel office.) With that in mind, it seems like there is a good chance that these photographs of mine may be hanging in this historic facility for some time to come!

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Death Valley Dunes, Morning

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Death Valley Dunes, Morning
Death Valley Dunes, Morning

Death Valley Dunes, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the Death Valley Dunes in early morning light.

This photograph was made on a late-March morning when I had wandered out around the west end of Death Valley Dunes, near Stovepipe Wells, and entered them from close to the back side. I often approach the dunes this way in the morning since it means crossing much less deep sand and because fewer people tend to go this way. (The latter seems to be even more true now that the NPS has installed and “official” parking lot – with restrooms! – along the road near where most folks traditionally stopped to make their direct approach to the tallest dunes.)

I was in an area of lower dunes mostly shooting nearby sand textures and the long shadows cast by hills and plants in the very early light. However, it is hard to ignore the amazing curves and textures of the dunes as they rise towards the east, especially when they are side-lit like this. So I spent a few minutes pointing the long lens int that direction. When I made the photographs I was sort of disappointed that I couldn’t keep the footprints in the bright foreground sand out of the image, but in retrospect I think that they actually improve the photograph.

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

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

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