Tag Archives: sand

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

Dunes Meet Playa

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Dunes Meet Playa
Desert sand dunes meet the edge of a playa in evening light

Dunes Meet Playa. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Desert sand dunes meet the edge of a playa in evening light.

A late-winter or early-spring visit to Death Valley is always on my photographic agenda. This year I visited in early March, shortly after a big atmospheric river weather system had dumped tremendous amounts of rainfall all over Southern California. Years ago I became aware of the seeming irony that the effects of water are nowhere more visible than in Death Valley, and on this visit they were even more obvious. Playas were flooded, roads were washed out and closed, mud flows were everywhere, and the colors of the dunes were intensified by the remaining moisture.

I made this photograph in the evening of my final full day in the park. The light was challenging — late in the afternoon clouds began to arrive, and as the golden hour approached most of the color was drained from the light. I had traveled to this area of dunes hoping to find some interesting light — and a small group of photographer friends — but when I got there it did not look promising. I decided that instead of going directly to specific dune subjects I would find a high place with a wide panorama. From there I could see the entirety of the upper Valley and be ready to use a long lens to take advantage of any good light that might briefly appear, even if it should be at a distance. As dusk came on the sky opened a bit and glowing light from the west softly lit the boundary between playa and dunes.

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.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers

Three Photographers, Evening Dunes

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Three Photographers, Evening Dunes
Three photographers deep within evening sand dunes

Three Photographers, Evening Dunes. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three photographers deep within evening sand dunes.

In early March I had the opportunity to spend a few days back in Death Valley National Park. Although I was primarily there to meet up and camp with siblings, this was also a photographic opportunity. There were both pluses and minuses to the timing of this visit. Recent heavy rains and creating flooding everywhere, and many routes were closed by the flooding or wash-outs — there simply were quite a few places that one couldn’t go. At the same time, these are “special conditions” in this desert landscape, and there were quite a few unusual opportunities.

Once in the park I discovered that some friends from the Yosemite area were also their to make photographs. We managed to meet up on my second full day, and we combined forces to photograph Mesquite Dunes early one morning. Later I returned to this area of the Vally to photograph in fading light as clouds tried to clear. Right at sunset there was a break in the clouds just above the western horizon and brighter light came through to shine on the geography. I found myself a high place with a commanding view over a large swath of the landscape and began to photograph whichever areas momentarily picked up the light. As I looked down I spotted my three friends again, this time dwarfed by the large shapes of desert dunes.

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.

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

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

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows

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Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows
A simply composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A simple composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

This is, obviously, a very simple, minimalist composition, made among the sand dunes of Death Valley National Park in the early spring.

We had wandered out onto the dunes near the end of the day, with a plan that allowed sufficient time to reach our goal while light remained, and even to do a bit of photography along the way. During the final few minutes of the day that light changes very quickly, with the color warming, the shadows deepening… and all of a sudden the light is gone.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information 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.
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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

Dunes, Blowing Sand

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Dunes with blowing sand in afternoon light, Death Valley National Park

Dunes, Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dunes with blowing sand in afternoon light, Death Valley National Park

For this photograph I returned to my file on as-yet-unfinished images from this year’s end-of-March visit to Death Valley. We were there for the better part of a week, visiting various areas of the park ranging from some quite popular spots (such as the dunes in this scene) to some that were a bit more off the beaten track and which required some effort to get to. The latter included some abandoned backcountry habitations and some dead-end roads into various canyons.

This scene is a fairly accessible one, though we came at it from a slightly different direction. We also arrived here in conditions that were a bit less than ideal, at least for walking into sand dunes, namely a lot of strong wind and blowing sand. I made the photograph when the sun was a bit lower in the sky, and its back-lit the dust-filled atmosphere and the little ribbons of blowing sand along the top ridges of the dunes.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information 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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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