Tag Archives: rise

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

Sandstorm Rising

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Sandstorm Rising
Clouds from a desert sandstorm rise above Death Valley National Park sand dunes.

Sandstorm Rising. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds from a desert sandstorm rise above Death Valley National Park sand dunes.

Today I am sharing yet another of the Death Valley photographs from my spring 2013 visit when, among other things, I had a couple of opportunities to photograph in sandstorm conditions. Like many photographers I tend to photograph this location early in the morning and late in the evening, when the light is softer and subtle colors emerge in the fascinating shapes of the dunes. But the stark midday light can be interesting too, especially when the light is softened and diffused by a dust-filled atmosphere.

My roots are in black and white film photography, and I still find myself leaning back in that direction fairly often. I feel that in many cases monochrome can let us see the subject more in terms of shapes, textures, tones — less as an attempt at literal representation of the subject and more about how we choose to interpret it. With monochrome we explicitly begin by accepting an interpretation that cannot be objectively accurate, since the world is (almost) never monochromatic. In addition, we have more freedom do things during the post-processing stages (as we did in the film era) that we probably could not get away with in color, and the result still register as being “true.”

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.

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

Dunes, Sandstorm

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Dunes, Sandstorm
Diffused light and atmosphere as a sandstorm rises above desert dunes.

Dunes, Sandstorm. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Diffused light and atmosphere as a sandstorm rises above desert dunes.

This photograph comes from a memorable early spring visit to Death Valley National Park back in 2013. (I know… what visit to Death Valley isn’t memorable, right?!) This day brought a fairly big sandstorm to the Valley, and I worked on photographing it in different locations and in a variety of ways — trying to focus on the atmosphere itself, on subjects made nearly opaque by the dust and brilliant light, attempts to capture the power of the dust-laden wind. This photograph perhaps comes closer to most of them in representing a subject that might be recognizable.

Photographing in these conditions is quite an experience, one that I’ve had more than a few times. On one hand, the scene can be overpowering and quite astonishing. Typically, aside from heat, these desert scenes can seem quite benign, mostly nearly static and quiet — in fact, immense stillness and quiet are among the most characteristic qualities of the desert landscape. But when such storms arise the experience is completely different and quite overpowering. It becomes difficult — sometimes bordering on impossible — to do much besides hunker down and wait for the conditions to subside.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Winter Mist, Tomales Bay

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Winter Mist, Tomales Bay
Morning mist rises above Tomales Bay on a cold winter morning.

Winter Mist, Tomales Bay. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning mist rises above Tomales Bay on a cold winter morning.

One advantage of living near iconic locations (in this case, the Point Reyes National Seashore) is that I can go there on short notice at times when few other visitors are around. Being only a short distance north of San Francisco and less than an hour’s drive from some populated areas of the greater Bay Area, a visit here on a summer weekend can be considerably less than a solitary experience. But on a freezing cold (literally!) late-winter weekday morning you might find yourself all alone in such a place.

I have passed by this spot many times, and this was not the first time I stopped to make photographs here. (Nearby and just out of sight are a couple of iconic regional photographic subjects.) On this morning it was the light that stopped me, along with the new grass on the coastal hills along the far shore. (Winter is our green season in much of California.) As I worked, the thin morning fog above the waters of Tomales Bay drifted slowly, backlit by the low-angle morning light.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise

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Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise
The winter sun rises thorugh tule fog above Central Valley wetlands.

Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The winter sun rises thorugh tule fog above Central Valley wetlands.

This is my favorite season of the year for a whole bunch of reasons. It brings so many special opportunities here on the West Coast. The fall colors come to the Sierra and then work their way downward and westward over a period of up to three months — and sometimes even a bit longer. The hot, dry season of wildfires and haze comes to an end, replaced by cooler temperatures and much more interesting skies and light as Pacific weather fronts arrive. Migratory birds return to the Central Valley… and once again I get to photograph the tule fog!

This photograph comes from a beautiful tule fog morning in the Central Valley some years ago, a perfect morning when the fog was thick but not so thick as to completely obscure the rising sun, here silhouetting the wetland foliage and gently reflecting on the surface of a pond. What the photograph cannot convey — but what it certainly evokes for me — is the sound of many thousands of nearby geese, cranes, blackbirds, and more.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | 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.

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