Tag Archives: southern

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

Sand Dunes, Light and Shadow

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Sand Dunes, Light and Shadow
A curving sand dune boundary between light and shadow, Death Valley National Park.

Sand Dunes, Light and Shadow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A curving sand dune boundary between light and shadow, Death Valley National Park.

This particular curving dune section became the subject for a series of photographs I made on this morning. It is a remarkable form, traveling higher and lower on the dune that what you can see in this photograph — a sort of “s-curve plus.” I have previously shared a couple of other photographs of it that were interpreted in color, photographs that show a larger portion of the dune. This one focuses on a small area near its base.

The light here was fascinating. The dunes are backed by a taller ridge, so the morning light does not arrive here until some time after dawn. At sunrise the light on these dunes is fully shadowed, and it has the blue tones of reflected sky. But as the sun rises it eventually sends its light across that ridge behind the dunes, and streamers of light being to slant across the dunes features, creating quickly evolving patterns of light and shadow.

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, Photographs: Southern California

Interrupted Dune #2

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Interrupted Dune #2
Interrupted curve of sand at a Death Valley dune.

Interrupted Dune #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Interrupted curve of sand at a Death Valley dune.

If you follow my posts and think that this looks familiar… you are right! It is a vertical (or “portrait”) format version of a subject that I shared earlier in a companion “landscape” orientation version. When a subject can work either way (albeit with different effects) it is my practice to capture both vertical and horizontal versions. I suppose one reason is that it relieves me of the worry that I might have picked the “wrong” option. It also puts off a final choice until later. In addition, it provides me with two visual options for the image, something that is occasionally useful. (For example, book and magazine covers tend to use vertical formats.)

Superficially this version looks a lot like the other one, though the taller and narrower format may give greater weight to the curve running between the bottom and top of the image and less weight to the darker portions of the scene. However, if you were to look at them side-by-side you would notice that the textures in the sand are subtly different, and that that colors have also shifted a bit. This photograph, like quite a few that I make in situations like this, was made in rapidly changing light conditions, and in the brief interval between the two photographs the scene changed visibly.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Creosote and Blowing Sand

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Creosote and Blowing Sand
High winds blow streamers of sand across dunes and past a lone clump of creosote in evening light.

Creosote and Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High winds blow streamers of sand across dunes and past a lone clump of creosote in evening light.

There are certain things we do not mention when in the field, things that we hope stay away and do not show up to interfere with photography. Since I’m not in the field at the moment — instead, sitting at my computer in my studio — I can go ahead and name one of them: wind. Some years back I was photographing canyons in Utah with some friends, and I was informed that I should never mention the name of this phenomenon while in the field, and if it was necessary to refer to it, the thing could only be called “W.”

“W” is often an issue in Death Valley and similar landscapes. It both creates challenges to photography (dust, camera stability, and more) and opportunities (flying dust can look spectacular!). We learn to deal with it. Sometimes this means heading off to a spot that is sheltered from the worst of it. It might mean photographing the effects of the wind (for example, a dust storm) from just outside its boundaries. Sometimes it means cautiously wading right into the maelstrom if the conditions appear to be spectacular enough, even at risk to equipment and health. Truth be told, the wind whipping up the flying sand in this photograph wasn’t that bad, especially since I could keep it mostly at my back.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Surf, Sand, and Rocks

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Surf, Sand, and Rocks
Rocky islands and peninsulas surround a small bay at a southern oregon beach.

Surf, Sand, and Rocks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky islands and peninsulas surround a small bay at a southern oregon beach.

This photograph is the partner of another from the same location that I posted recently. This spot is along the lower coast of Oregon, not too far above the northern California border. We had been visiting the California coastal redwoods in the upper part of the state, and we decided to make a day trip across the border and up that coast. We had no specific goal in mind — well, not beyond finding a place for breakfast along the way — so we just headed north to see what we would find.

We were not expecting to find any particular “icons,” we were freed to stop at whatever seemed interesting. I don’t know that name of these formation, and my only way of identifying them was to record a mileage marker along the route. The large stone features here stand in shallow water — in some places literally on the beach. I chose the vertical format for this photograph to emphasize the view across the beach and the little bay between the rocks, leading the eye to the distant horizon and fog bank.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.