Tag Archives: scenic

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

Desert Morning, Light and Shadow

May 2, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning light and shadows play across the immense landscape of southern Death Valley as storm clouds build.

This photograph reminds me of the immense scale of the Death Valley landscape. Photographed from high in the Panamint Range very early on a morning when a storm was building—it would later snow in our location—the contrast between the cloud-shadowed foreground and the early morning light in the distant valley emphasizes the vast distances in the scene. The light began closing down essentially right at dawn as the clouds of a Pacific weather front came in from the west behind us. (As I made this photograph light snow was falling on the ridge above and behind my position.) The dark clouds building over our position along the crest of the Panamint Range were beginning to extend out over the Valley and build over each of the ranges extending into the distance.

As I made this photograph the main portion of Death Valley, below us to the left and extending into the lower part of the frame here, had fallen into shadow, along with the range of mountains running along its eastern edge. The clouds had not yet worked their way to the south, and where the Valley turns toward the east there was early morning sunlight still spilling into the lower section of the Valley and lighting distant mountains and arid salt flats and atmospheric haze. Even further in the distance some thickening clouds are visible above a single very distant peak.

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

Upper Titus Canyon

May 1, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Titus Canyon road descends into the upper canyon from Red Pass, Death Valley National Park

At first glance this landscape lacks a central focus and the colors are relatively unsaturated. The contrasts within the terrain are subdued, without the striking divisions between light and shadow that we might see in places like the alpine zones of the Sierra. In the past I have often not bothered to photograph such places, since they appear to lack the dramatic qualities that we often search out in a place like Death Valley. And there is no questioning the appeal of those subjects that possess starker lines, brighter colors, greater contrast, and perhaps towering geological forms. Yet, it occurred to me a year or two ago that the places like this are part of the true experience of the desert and of Death Valley, and that their character is a big part of what forms my sense of this terrain. To ignore them seems both a bit unfair and a bit dishonest. So I decided to try to see if I could find ways to photograph them, a project I’m still working on but also one on which I’m confident that I’m making some progress—and, in the process, learning to see the place more fully.

This photograph was made at Red Pass, the high point of the Titus Canyon road between the Amargosa Valley and Death Valley. (The source of the the name of this pass is probably obvious from one look at the color of the rocks.) The narrow, twisty, one-way gravel road is perhaps best known for traveling through very narrow slot canyon terrain near its lower end, but the whole thing is part of the experience. After a steep climb out of the upper reaches of Titanothere Canyon, the road tops the narrow ridge of the pass before descending steeply into the upper reaches of Titus Canyon. The view from the pass down into upper Titus Canyon is remarkable. The canyon drops away and the road is visible twisting and turning its way down the initial descent and then crossing flatter areas beyond. Barely visible in the upper left area of the image is the location of the historic ghost town of Leadville, a town built on the false promises of mineral wealth that great and then died in the space of about a year—in a place that could hardly be more remote or less hospitable.

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

Morning Light, Badlands Terrain

April 29, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Early morning light on tortured badlands formations, Death Valley National Park

I made this photograph at a truly iconic location (arguably the iconic location) at Death Valley National Park back in early April. While I don’t always photograph icons, and I make a point of looking for other things when photographing in well-known areas, I’m not anti-icon. My relationship with them is complex, but when I’m with someone who has not seen them before or when I visit a new place for the first time or when unusual and spectacular conditions arise… I’ll be there with everyone else. (Though sometimes I’ll be there without everyone else, since sometimes I go to these places in less likely conditions or an unusual times.)

All of this is my introduction to saying that I made this photograph at the famous Zabriskie Point area of Death Valley. I have photographed here quite a few times over the years, and while I don’t always revisit the spot, when I do I always find something interesting to photograph. It could be special conditions (clouds, full moon, haze, etc.), but more often I like to seek out smaller component elements of this famous landscape and see if I can make photographs of them. This terrain certainly provides plenty of opportunities! It is a rugged place where gully-riddled ridges are stacked one above the other, and at the right times of the day the light can glance across these elements in beautiful ways. The light in this photograph came well after dawn, when the sun had risen enough to begin to light the features more thoroughly, but on a morning when its intensity was diminished just enough by high, thin clouds.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Winter Meadow, Forest

April 28, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest and snow-topped cliffs above a winter meadow, Yosemite Valley

During this distressingly dry season in California, our three-day visit to Yosemite Valley in early March was a welcome relief. It was raining when we arrived, and it remained cloudy and wet for the entire period, with breaks in the rain but not the clouds. We were there for the opening of the Yosemite Renaissance XXIX exhibit, which continues in the Visitor Center Gallery through early March. (Stop in and take a look if you make it to the Valley. This is a wonderful annual juried show of art related to Yosemite and the Sierra. And, yes, one of my prints is there.)

The scene here is a popular and well-known Cook’s Meadow. As is normal in the winter, the grasses that are so green in spring and early summer have gone dormant, as have most of the other plants in the meadow itself. This is such a familiar scene—though always a beautiful one—that I most often would not stop to photograph. However, among the brown tones the one spots of bright red among the foreground brush caught my attention, and the light had a warm and glowing quality that was special. The light falling on the forest was very soft, filtered though thin clouds above and to the east, and snow from the passing storm covered the upper reaches of the cliff walls around the Valley.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: scenic

Desert Morning, Light and Shadow

Upper Titus Canyon

Morning Light, Badlands Terrain

Winter Meadow, Forest

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