Tag Archives: shadows

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

Photographer, Manly Lake

Image February 9, 2026 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

As I photographed the landscape another photographer worked her way out onto the shallow water at the edge of Manly Lake. At first I managed to photograph around her, but before long she moved directly into m frame. At this point it occurred to me that she could become the subject of a photograph herself.

Her presence illustrates something that may not be obvious about this desert lake — it is extremely shallow! This makes sense once you think about the nature of the terrain here This is Badwater Basin, a broad playa containing the lowest elevation in Death Valley. It is nearly flat, and differences in elevation on the playa are measured in centimeters. She was able to find places to step that were perhaps only a centimeter or two higher than the water. (From the Department of Awful Puns, it occurred to me that a fun alternative title for this photo could be “Photograph Her, Manly Lake.”)

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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: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cathedral Range

Image January 27, 2026 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This was the scene late in the day during my early July visit to the High Sierra near Tuolumne Meadows and just east of Yosemite National Park. In the right light, this can be my favorite time of day — the sun Is nearing the horizon and the light is softening and turning golden, and shadows stretch across the landscape. I made the photograph next to a high country meadow that opens to a view of the distant Cathedral Range.

The Cathedral Range has a unique personality. It is not on the Sierra Crest, but instead runs more or less northwest to southeast between the the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers. It rises from mostly forested country to culminate in open granite terrain, with some summits that escaped glaciation and are rugged and steep.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline and Trees, Morning

Image December 26, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This will be one of (but perhaps not quite the) last photographs I’ll share for now from my July backpack trip. A group of us went into the Eastern Sierra Nevada just outside of the northeast boundary of Yosemite National Park. sWe did a low-mileage four-day trip, which left me with plenty of morning and evening time for photography. But even with two mornings and two evenings in this particular spot I didn’t have all of the time that I could have used.

I have visited this area many times over the years, so I had some ideas about what I might photograph. This raised shoreline area, located between the lake and large meadow below it, was on my short list. I got distracted by other subjects on the first morning and missed the brief moment of ideal light when the shoreline is highlighted and the background remains in shadow. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again on the second morning, so I was there and ready when the light arrived.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cottonwood Grove, Evening

Image November 25, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

At the end of October I spent a couple of days photographing fall color in Yosemite Valley. Previously I posted about “three” main sources of fall foliage int he valley, listing big leaf maple, dogwood, and black oaks. But I left out another important tree, the cottonwood. This photograph was made within a grove of cottonwoods growing along a quiet section of the Merced River.

This particular spot is one that I’ve photographed quite a few times in the past. It is a little trickier to get there these days, since the park has limited access points in order to discourage visitors from trampling fragile locations that were once accessible. I had to search a bit to find a way to get here that didn’t violate the protected zones. Once I did, I walked along the river bank in later afternoon to this spot, where the trees grow thickly near the water.