Tag Archives: sand

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

Death Valley Dunes, Morning

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Death Valley Dunes, Morning
Death Valley Dunes, Morning

Death Valley Dunes, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the Death Valley Dunes in early morning light.

This photograph was made on a late-March morning when I had wandered out around the west end of Death Valley Dunes, near Stovepipe Wells, and entered them from close to the back side. I often approach the dunes this way in the morning since it means crossing much less deep sand and because fewer people tend to go this way. (The latter seems to be even more true now that the NPS has installed and “official” parking lot – with restrooms! – along the road near where most folks traditionally stopped to make their direct approach to the tallest dunes.)

I was in an area of lower dunes mostly shooting nearby sand textures and the long shadows cast by hills and plants in the very early light. However, it is hard to ignore the amazing curves and textures of the dunes as they rise towards the east, especially when they are side-lit like this. So I spent a few minutes pointing the long lens int that direction. When I made the photographs I was sort of disappointed that I couldn’t keep the footprints in the bright foreground sand out of the image, but in retrospect I think that they actually improve the photograph.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, dunes, sand, mesquite, folds, shadow, light, pattern, hill, peak, foot, prints, mountain, morning, stock

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

Sand Patterns, Death Valley Dunes

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Sand Patterns, Death Valley Dunes
Sand Patterns, Death Valley Dunes

Sand Patterns, Death Valley Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Linear and curved patterns in morning light at Death Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

Early in the morning on the third day of my late March trip to Death Valley I wandered out to Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, taking the easier route around the west end of the dunes and then walking toward the higher dunes and shooting more or less towards the rising sun. There are plenty of interesting subjects when approaching the dunes from this direction: the patterned mud (or so they seem) formations beneath the edge of the dunes, the many small plants coming up after recent rains, flowers everywhere, the taller dunes to the east catching the first light, and beyond them the darker peaks of the Amargosa Range.

After climbing to the top of a moderate size dune to get a better and more open view to the east I happened to look down and see this steep, sandy slope with its linear pattern apparently created as sand blew over the edge and down the side. Beyond are the more typical gentle and curving slopes – here with some footprints from the many people who had earlier wandered through this section of the dunes.

(I think that we are seeing more people walking out to the dunes now that the NPS has created a actual “official” parking lot with marked spaces, rest rooms, and interpretive signs – an update from the old practice of simply pulling off the side of the road.)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 200mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/50 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, dunes, lines, wind, ripple, wave, pattern, curve, shadow, light, texture, pattern, abstract, shape, morning, light, stovepipe, wells, tan, golden, stripe, foot, prints, stock, sand, hill

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

Dusk, Death Valley Dunes

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Dusk, Death Valley Dunes
Dusk, Death Valley Dunes

Dusk, Death Valley Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California. March 26, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dusk light on plants and wavelike patterns of Death Valley Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

The drive to Death Valley from the San Francisco Bay Area is a long one, and even though I try to leave early I almost always arrive at Death Valley in the middle or late afternoon. This was the case on my visit during the past week. I arrived just before dinner time, set up my tent at Stovepipe Wells (or “Stove Pipe Wells” according to some of the literature at the lodge), grabbed a quick bite, and headed over to nearby Death Valley Dunes (sometimes a.k.a. “Mesquite Dunes”) to do a quick shoot in sunset and dusk light from a position along the road using a long lens. Some of the other photographs show a more “traditional” dune view, focusing on some of the larger dunes, the transverse dunes, and even the foothills of the Amargosa Range to the east, but for this one I decided to focus closer and photograph the plants growing along the closest dunes – plants greener than usual from the recent rains in the park.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 260mm
ISO 200, f/11, .5 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, landscape, nature, desert, mesquite, dunes, evening, dunes, dusk, sunset, evening, light, plants, sand, pattern, wave, folds, travel, scenic, landscape, nature, stock

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

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

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Ocean Beach, Winter Surf
Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of winter surf along Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California.

On a day like this one it was hard to resist shooting from an obvious spot like this – right by the Cliff House, looking south along the incoming winter surf at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. With the strong backlight coming through the ocean spray and overcast and fog, the light was very diffused, and it made it possible to shoot directly into the otherwise impossibly bright direct reflections of the sun on the surf. A lot of what is in this photograph is subtle, and you might miss it in this small on-screen image – but look for the very faint outline of the distant hills of the San Francisco Peninsula and the subtle differences in tonality in the cloudy sky.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, beach, waves, foam, seascape, landscape, people, beach, sand, mountain, hill, great, highway, sky, clouds, mist, spray, haze, silhouette, atmosphere, recession, winter, season, stock, black and white