Tag Archives: range

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

Snow-capped Panamint Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Snow-capped Panamint Mountains
Fresh snow forms patterns on the sparse forest along the crest of the Panamint Mountains.

Snow-capped Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Fresh snow forms patterns on the sparse forest along the crest of the Panamint Mountains.

After all these years of seeing snow on desert peaks, it still catches my attention when wintry weather comes to this landscape. At first it seems strange, but then I remember that desert temperature swings are huge and snow is actually common at higher elevations. This very recent snowfall had not really begun to melt yet — and the white snow set off the shapes of the juniper trees and ridges criss-crossing the slopes of this summit.

Most often when I’ve photographed this area late in the day the temperatures have been comfortable or even warm. But on this late-March evening it was distinctly cold, with wind blowing and the snow nearby. We bundled up and photographed for an hour or so as the day came to and end.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Valley to Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Valley to Mountains
An expansive view of rugged Death Valley National Park desert mountain landscape.

Valley to Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An expansive view of rugged Death Valley National Park desert mountain landscape.

I don’t think most people think of Death Valley as a “mountain park” along the lines of Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and similar places. Most of the popular routes and sights are in valleys, including the great one that gives the park its name. But there are mountains, spectacular and very tall mountains, and it is possible to venture into them. This view comes from a place high in the Panamint Range, to the west of the main valley, topped by 11,000+’ Telescope Peak.

I made the photograph close to sunset, when long shadows began to highlight the textures of the terrain. This high perspective reveals features that are difficult to fully appreciate close-up. For example, it is very hard to get a sense of that remarkable terrain formed by flowing water at the bottom of the frame. Desert mountains rise behind, and beyond them is the Amargosa Valley and even more distant mountains.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Ghost Towns, Photographs: Southern California

Abandoned Mill

Image Leave a comment
Abandoned Mill
An abandoned mill on a steep slope high in the Panamint Mountains.

Abandoned Mill. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An abandoned mill on a steep slope high in the Panamint Mountains.

For someone like me, the first instinct is to think of Death Valley National Park as being mostly wilderness, and then to associate that with the idea that it is a place of little or no human presence. In truth there’s virtually no place in the world where we have not left a mark… and there are many examples in this park. They range from evidence of long-ago native populations and their descendants who still live there to the rather astonishing number of old mining sites. No matter where you go in this park., you are bound to see these things.

In the latter category is the site of Skidoo, where there was once a real town and lots of mining and ore refining… in just about the most unlikely location imaginable. It was near the summit of high desert mountains, far from any paved roads. The ruins of the water-powered mill (an astounding story too long to relate here) sit on a steep hillside, overlooking a remarkable expanse of rugged desert terrain and mountains that extends to the distant peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

From the Panamints to the Sierra

Image Leave a comment
From the Panamints to the Sierra
The long view from the crest of the Panamint Range in Death Valley to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

From the Panamints to the Sierra. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The long view from the crest of the Panamint Range in Death Valley to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

While details are somewhat obscured due to haze, this view stretches from the crest of Death Valley National Park’s Panamint Range all the way to southern summits of the Sierra Nevada. The distance here is quite impressive — my estimate is that those peaks are perhaps 80 miles away or so. If you look closely, you can see that the ridges just across Panamint Valley — two ridges before the Sierra — are topped with recent snowfall, even on this early spring date.

The haze tends to sit in the valleys between the mountain ranges, but it also extends higher into the atmosphere, thus hiding almost all details of the distance Sierra Nevada. The late-afternoon backlight contributes to the effect. Despite the hard edges of ridge lines this light brings a softness to the scene.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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