Tag Archives: rugged

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

Desert Gold Field

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Desert Gold Field
“Desert Gold Field” — Late afternoon light on field of desert gold wildflowers in southern Death Valley.

A day or two ago I thought that I was finished with the photographs from our late-February visit to Death Valley. But I decided to make another pass at the raw files from the trip, and I found a few more photographs that I think help fill out the story of this trip. (Update: Since I wrote that I have found even more!) The highlights — and my primary photographic targets — were the exceptional wildflower bloom and Lake Manly. Here’s another of the wildflower photographs, one which illustrates the extent of some of the larger fields of color.

If you visit this spot during most of the year you might not notice much vegetation at all. Aside from a few bushes, it would mainly give the appearance of a gentle gravel slope. But in February the desert gold plants were taking full advantage of the season’s above-normal rainfall, and some places like this one were more or less carpeted with colorful flowers.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Desert Gold, Black Mountains

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Desert Gold, Black Mountains
“Desert Gold, Black Mountains” — The Black Mountains rise above a gravel fan covered with desert gold flowers, Death Valley.

As one bit of evidence that it might not be exaggerating to call this year’s flowers a “super bloom” I offer this photograph of a dense field of desert gold flowers, backed by mountains that are also beginning to show signs of spring growth. To be sure, not every gravel fan and wash in the park had this many flowers — far from it. But in many places the amount of color has been exceptional.

This photograph looks south toward the north end of the park’s Black Mountains, the ridge that runs along the east side of the main valley. It is an impressively rugged range, and it can be challenging finding a way to photograph it from this angle — the distance produces a lot of atmospheric haze. But on this day the air was relatively clear, and the colorful flowers and side-lit mountains gave the scene more definition.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Desert Mountain Sunset

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Desert Mountain Sunset
“Desert Mountain Sunset” — Golden hour light on desert mountains, Death Valley.

The final full day of our pre-Christmas visit to Death Valley was mostly not ideal for photography. A winter storm was approaching, and most of the day was quite gray. We managed to get out and photograph in some canyons, but by mid-afternoon the prospects were deteriorating rapidly, and we decided to take a break. Somewhat later, without warning, there was a brief clearing before sunset… so off we went to take advantage of the light!

The best light appeared to be well north of us, so we loaded up the vehicle and headed that way. By this time the light was evolving quickly, partially as a result of the changing atmospheric conditions but also because it was late in the day. When I saw the colorful light on these somewhat distant, rugged mountains I stopped and put a long lens on the camera so that I could capture the scene before the light faded.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Trees and Sandstone Cliffs

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Trees and Sandstone Cliffs
“Trees and Sandstone Cliffs” — Trees near the base of sandstone cliffs, Zion Canyon.

There is a lot going on here related to textures and colors. Color first: the cliff and tree colors are almost complementary. The green trees at the base of the cliff are in full shade. The further cliff face is getting both direct and reflected light. The cliffs seem massive and solid, but the surfaces are surprisingly varied. We see lighter and redder sections contrasting with almost-blue darker areas.

I was a little surprised to see trees growing so close to the base of he cliff. Often these areas are littered with accumulated rockfall debris, but here the trees don’t show any signs of that. It isn’t easy to tell from the photograph, but some of the trees are actually growing from cracks in the rock wall.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.