Tag Archives: sky

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

Distant Ridge, Dusk

Image February 16, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A distant ridge in dusk light, viewed from a high point in Death Valley Naitonal Park.

This was just about the final photograph that I made at this location high in Death Valley National Park’s Black Mountains. I had arrived here well before sunset, remaining to photograph the light transitions as the day came to an end. The valleys directly below had gone dark by this point, so I quickly moved to a nearby spot and switched my attention from the west to the east, where a distant snow-capped ridge in Nevada was visible beneath the dusk sky.

In a previous post I mentioned that landscape photography isn’t always a slow, sedate process. It can be, but the light, sky, and landscape can also change very quickly. When I saw this late light I had to switch into “fast landscape” mode as the light quickly faded, and I managed to make a couple of exposures before the show was over and it was time to head back to camp.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Desert Mountains, Morning Clouds

Image February 7, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Haze mutes the details of desert mountains topped by morning clouds, Death Valley National Park.

This photograph is the result of one of those “look what’s behind you!” moments. I was at a location where I had previously scouted sunrise subject. I arrived early, set up, and photographed that subject in the light that I had hoped for. Once finished, I paused to look around. In the opposite direction I saw this series of back-lit formations leading away toward the cloud-crested peak. It was time to rotate the camera on the tripod and work this subject, too!

Haze can be the photographers’ friend or foe in Death Valley. It often cannot be avoided photographs made across any sort of distance — and sometimes the distances in this park are huge. The haze may be an impediment a clear view of a distant mountain range. But it also can produce a lovely atmosphere if the conditions and light are just right.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Central Valley Morning Sky

Image January 28, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Clouds above wetland ponds on winter morning in Californai’s Cetmral Valley.

California’s Central Valley is a complicated place. If you drive through the impressions are largely of traffic, lots of huge trucks, endless fields, and seemingly nondescript cities and towns. In the winter the air can be awful when inversions put a lid on it for days or weeks at a time. But on the right days and at the right times on those days there is a lot of beauty out there, too — and the immense sky is a good part of that.

This was one of the very first photographs I made in 2023. It was early on New Year’s Day, and I had probably shot a handful of attempts at bird photographs before we arrived at this spot. From here the view to the northeast was clear, clouds from a departing storm still clustered around the Sierra, and early morning sunlight colored the clouds directly overhead.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree

Image January 26, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning sky filled with blue clouds behind a winter-dormant tree, Central Valley, California.

This photograph is from New Yea’s Day morning, when a small group of us met in a wild place to photograph birds and, a bit later, to break out goodies and champagne to toast the arrival of 2023. The day was a rousing social success… which made up for the overall less-than-thrilling photographic conditions. It was far from a “bust,” but moments of good light were separated by many more with gray skies and wind.

This complex tree is an “old friend” of mine — a tree that I see many times each year. Every time I pass I think about how to photograph it and realize that it isn’t an easy subject! My most successful efforts have been in fog, when details of the scene are muted and the background disappears. On this day I had some unusual colors and light to work with — the blue-toned sky and the more colorful breaks in the clouds.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sky

Distant Ridge, Dusk

Desert Mountains, Morning Clouds

Central Valley Morning Sky

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree

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