Tag Archives: sand

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

Sandstorm, Dunes, Desert Mountains

April 29, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early evening light on sand dunes with clouds of wind-driven dust above and desert mountains beyond, Death Valley National Park

As it got closer to sunset on this sandstorm evening in Death Valley, I stopped at a low, black hill that I like to ascend so that I can shoot in a 360 degree panorama from its summit. The hill itself is interesting, it that it is made up of material that is much different from that of the surrounding desert, a sort of very dark layered rock. The hill itself is almost completely bare of vegetation, but the flats around it support a healthy crop of arrow weed plants, which can glow with a golden color in the right light.

While my original plan was to photograph the further dunes, from here I saw the conjunction of the golden arrow weed plants, the dark curve of the barren black hill, the bright light and shadows on the taller dunes, the clouds of blowing sand beyond the dunes, and in the far distance the lower peaks and ridges of the Cottonwood Mountains. This is an example of an opportunistic photograph, in that I did not plan on this scene beforehand and because the light died within a minute or two of the time I arrived.

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

Dunes and Sandstorm

April 26, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Towering clouds of wind-blown sand rise above desert sand dunes, Death Valley National Park

In the early afternoon, a bit to my surprise and somewhat to my consternation, after returning to camp from shooting in another area of the park I got my first hints of the upcoming afternoon and evening sand storm when I noticed an increasing number of dust devils out by the dunes and when blowing dust began to rise along the far eastern side of the Valley. Although these events can be photogenic (and a bit dangerous to camera gear!) they are not very pleasant to be in, a fact that I know from previous experience. However, given that the weather otherwise had been pretty boring – too much blue sky! – at least this promised something a bit out of the ordinary.

So as the afternoon wore on I headed out, driving toward the eastern side of the Valley. As I passed this classic view of what is probably the most famous set of dunes in the Valley, large and thick dust clouds were rising behind the dunes. Oddly, there wasn’t all that much sand blowing on these dunes – just behind them on lower dunes farther north and east. So I paused to use the long lens to isolate the dunes, with their sparse plants, in the afternoon light with clouds of blowing sand mostly obscuring the peaks of the Grapevine Mountains in the Amargosa Range.

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

Sandstorm, Dunes

April 19, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Strong winds lift clouds of sand high into the air above desert sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Sandstorms are common in Death Valley, especially when I visit, typically in the spring. I wasn’t totally surprised (nor totally pleased!) when one arose on the second day of this early April visit. After photographing all morning, I was back in camp to get something to eat and take care of camp business before heading back out in the mid-afternoon for the second shoot of the day. As I sat by my camp I saw a few pillars of dust out in the valley near dunes, and at that point I had a pretty good idea of what might be in store for me in the next few hours. It wasn’t long before the wind began to pick up, soon becoming strong enough to stir up a lot of dust and blow down any weak tents left by campers who had headed out for daytime activities elsewhere.

In objective terms, a sandstorm is an unpleasant thing. It is hot. It is dry. It is full of blowing sand and dust, and the fine dust gets into everything, no matter what you do to try to protect against it. In the worst cases, the blowing sand can damage the paint on vehicles. However, in visual terms, a sandstorm can be quite interesting – as long as you can find ways to shoot it that don’t risk destroying your photographic gear. It looked to me like the main storm was in the middle of the valley, so I figured I might be able to cross the valley, take road along the other side, and skirt the far edge of the storm, and photograph back into it with the light coming from behind. I drove across the valley and stopped right at the edge of the blowing sand and mostly shot from inside my vehicle so as to minimize the dust contamination. From this vantage point I could use a long lens to photograph the abstract shapes of sand dunes, backed by clouds of whirling and drifting sand that obscured the Cottonwood Mountains on the far side of the valley.

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

Dusk Sandstorm, Desert Mountains

April 17, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Strong desert winds whip up a dusk sandstorm below the Grapevine Mountains, Death Valley National Park

To look at many photographs – including my own – of places like Death Valley, a viewer unfamiliar with the desert might begin to imagine a place of clear skies (with appropriate beautiful clouds), brilliant sun, intense colors, flowers, plants, and much more. While all of those things can be found in the desert, the fact that they are often more the exception than the rule may at least partially account for their popularity as photographic subjects. Yes, I have seen stunningly beautiful and colorful sunrises and sunsets, while standing in quiet and still air and in comfortable temperatures. However, I have also experienced rain, snow, very powerful winds, sand and dust storms, intense cold, nearly debilitating heat, and more.

This photograph was made during some of the less-than-lovely conditions that are quite common at this time of year, namely very strong winds and the resulting sand storm. Near the middle of the day I had caught my first glimpses of sand/dust rising up into the sky from some nearby dunes. Having been through this before, I was not fooled by the fact that the air remained almost completely still at my location at that time – and it wasn’t long at all until the winds become more general and began to lift sand and dust into the air across the entire end of the valley and then carry clouds of this material northward. I cannot say that I enjoy being in such conditions at all. Sand gets into everything, stuff that isn’t tied down blows away, breathing and opening your eyes can be a challenge. (Later, when I returned to camp in the darkness, I couldn’t face the idea of breaking out the camp stove and trying to cook and eat in the strong winds… so I wimped out and went to the restaurant at Stove Pipe Wells!) But as uncomfortable as these conditions can be, they are also visually special and impressive, so I headed out to the far side of the Valley, figuring that I might be able to shoot back into and across the sand storm while remaining on its edge. I shot through the late afternoon and continued as the sun set, leaving behind the murky, dust-filled atmosphere that shrouded everything. As twilight came on, the winds shifted, and dust clouds that had been blowing away from me began to move south down the valley towards me, obscuring the base of the Grapevine Mountains along the edge of Death Valley.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sand

Sandstorm, Dunes, Desert Mountains

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.