Tag Archives: rugged

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

Canyon Narrows

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Canyon Narrows
A desert mountain wash winds through narrows between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Canyon Narrows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert mountain canyon winds through narrows between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Believe it or not, this is Titus Canyon, through which a remarkable road passes. The road runs almost thirty miles from near the Nevada border, over mountains, past old mines, and eventually emerging into Death Valley. Or at least it used to. We hiked into the canyon from the west end in late March — when it was closed to vehicles due to damage in a big storm last year. The road is essentially obliterated, and the canyon is as it was in pre-road days.

This photograph is an example of a principle that occurred to me many years ago when photographing redwoods and considering how to portray their extreme height. The counter-intuitive principle sometimes turns out to be, “go wide, not tall.” I feel that a wide landscape format creates a subjective sense of “it is so tall that it won’t fit in the frame.” In this case, I think it also emphasizes the twisting, meandering path that the canyon takes through the narrows.

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, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Mountains, Clearing Storm

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Desert Mountains, Clearing Storm
An early-spring mountain snow storm clears from desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains, Clearing Storm. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An early-spring mountain snow storm clears from desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

This photograph comes from a morning in Death Valley when the light, for the most part, was singularly uninspiring. I knew it would be cloudy from the weather forecast, and when I went out before dawn there was just enough light to confirm this. But it was the last morning in the valley, and I was determined to at least see if anything would crop up. I loaded up and walked into sand dunes… where the light remained resolutely gray, the skies overcast, and it even rained a bit. But sometimes a break in awful light can produce glorious light…

… which is precisely what happened for a few moments as the light from the rising sun found some holes in the clouds and illuminated the summit of desert mountains, where the remnants of a passing storm were still dropping snow and rain. It was a reminder that going out on the unlikely days can sometimes produce something wonderful!

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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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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Twisting Desert Canyon

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Twisting Desert Canyon
A deep desert canyon winds between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Twisting Desert Canyon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A deep desert canyon winds between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

In a recent post I mentioned that I had finished sharing photographs from my January visit to Death Valley. What I did not mention was that we were heading back in late March to make more photographs. With this post I begin sharing photographs from this second trip. Death Valley is never the same twice, and on this visit we encountered rain, snow, high winds, and much more. In fact, our visit to this canyon was partially intended to avoid the winds sweeping through the valley that day.

I am making an exception to my policy of usually not naming specific locations: this is from Titus Canyon. A long, popular, and quite remarkable road traverses this route, starting in Nevada, climbing through high mountains, then descending a deep canyon to emerge in Death Valley. Last year’s historical rainfall damaged the road, and the only access is now by hiking. I write “damaged,” but the truth is that, at least in the lower canyon that we visited, the road was actually “obliterated.” There are literally no traces of it at all. It was a rare treat to experience this canyon as it must have been before automobiles.

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.

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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

Butte, Morning Haze

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Butte, Morning Haze
A desert butte and mountins stretch into the distance in morning haze, Death Valley National Park.

Butte, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert butte and mountains stretching into the distance in morning haze, Death Valley National Park.

With all that haze, this may not be your typical Death Valley photograph, but it is my favorite kind of light. I love haze, backlight, and scenes full of interesting shapes, curves, and lines. I’m also fond of including elements that are barely visible, as is the case with the furthest hills beyond the rounded butte.

The photograph is an example of the “don’t forget to look behind you” school of photography. We naturally focus on the main subject in front of us, the one that brought us to a place. But frequently something else is lurking nearby, often to one side or behind us. That was the case here, as this scene was almost 180 degrees opposite the very different subject that I had been photographing before I turned around to see this view.

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.