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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Death Valley Dunes, Morning

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Death Valley Dunes, Morning

Death Valley Dunes, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells with the lower slopes of Tucki Mountain in the distance.

This is a different version – a landscape orientation, in this case – of a scene that produced one of my favorite photographs from this trip, a black and white portrait orientation photograph of these dunes with Tucki Mountain in the background and clouds above. This color version focuses more on the texture and warm tones of the sunlit sand itself.

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Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning on the Stovepipe Dunes with the Funeral Range in the distance. Death Valley National Park.

This is probably a more “typical” Death Valley Dunes (a.k.a. “Stovepipe Dunes”) photograph, though I got here by a slightly different route than others might follow. The dunes are easily visible from the roadway east of Stovepipe Wells. Many people drive to a spot next to the dunes and start walking straight towards the highest point. Having “been there, done that” before, I now know that this is a long slog through deep sand – so this time I started my walk much closer to Stovepipe Wells and went around the west end of the dunes to get to the back side of the formation. I entered the dunes from the north to get this shot, and I have to say that access was a lot easier this way.

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Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds

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Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds

Stovepipe Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and Morning Clouds. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stovepipe Wells Dunes, Tucki Mountain, and morning clouds, Death Valley National Park, California. After shooting early farther out in the dunes, I encountered this scene while starting my hike back to my car.

It is interesting to note the number of ways in which this photograph was the result of serendipity. First, I went to the back side of the dunes rather than the more typical sections. Second, I had pretty much finished my shooting (yeah, right!) and was heading back to the car. Third, I just happened to wander up on this particular dune – almost didn’t go there at all. Fourth, the light was nothing like this when I first saw it – this section was mostly in shadow. Fifth, those wonderful clouds that mirror the texture of the dune surface just happened to float into the scene as the light came across the top of the dune to illuminate this section of the sand.

(This photograph brings to mind an Ansel Adams quote: “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” Adams also offer a critique of God: “Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships!” ;-)

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