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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Southern California

Photographing the Canyon

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Photographing the Canyon
Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in a desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Photographing the Canyon. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in a desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

My photographs of desert canyon landscapes are virtually always devoid of people. Without some frame of reference it is difficult or even impossible to judge the scale of these places — a cliff could be four feet high or forty, a rock might be a pebble or a boulder. This photograph includes my wife, Patricia Mitchell, at work photographing a section of a narrow desert canyon in Death Valley back in late March.

I often favor longer lenses for landscape photography, but in these canyons I usually use an ultra-wide lens. The canyon walls are only feet apart in the narrowest places, and often the view forward and backward may stretch no more than a few dozen feet. Photographing as a duo in such a place requires teamwork, and each person typically must work alone — or all of the photographs will feature other photographer! She went first as we re-entered this canyon. I followed, and initially photographed back in the direction from which we came. Once she moved forward I turned my attention into the canyon and then kept my distance so that we would not interfere with one another’s compositions.

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

Desert Mountains and Valley

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Desert Mountains and Valley
Badlands, mountains, and a valley, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains and Valley. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Badlands, mountains, and a valley, Death Valley National Park.

As I continue (still!) working my way though this year’s Death Valley photographs, a familiar process is at work. I first go to images that jump out at me or which I specifically recall making. In some ways, this is the easiest part of the process. Then I dig into the archive more carefully, considering photographs that seem less obvious, but which “work” once I spend time with them. At about this point I imagine that I have finished, but the thought that I’ve missed something gnaws at me, and inevitably I head back into the files again and gradually find subtler images that I like.

This is one of those later-stage photographs. On this morning I made several exposures from this spot, and two others initially jumped out at me as “the shots” from this place. When I looked at this one, there were things I liked about it, but I had other photographs that I wanted to deal with first. When I finally came back to it I think I started to realize what I must have instinctively found interesting about this scene when I pushed the shutter button. It is a large landscape, looking across bare foreground hill into a large valley, and toward desert mountains distant enough to introduce the effects of atmospheric haze.

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

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

Desert Springs

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Desert Springs
Ponds from desert springs in a remote part of Death Valley National Park.

Desert Springs. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Ponds from desert springs in a remote part of Death Valley National Park.

Usually my photographs are, at least to my mind, more about how I see something than about the thing I saw — though there is always a bit of tension between those two things. This one is more about “the thing” itself. If you look closely there is a series of three lakes or ponds in this improbable location, far out on the fringes of one of the hottest and driest places in North America. This spot has a history involving mining, the transportation of goods, and some nearby springs. But the amazement of finding water in such a place is shared with all such locations.

I’ve long felt that desert landscapes are among the best places to see the effects of water. Along a stream fed by mountain snowpack, water is a given. Out here it is rare, and you have to look around to see the many signs of its work. A playa? Formed by water. A gigantic fan spreading out from a desert mountain valley? Water. Undulating terrain under the roadway? Water. A small but striking strip of green? Water. The rugged forms of badlands? Water. The effects are literally everywhere you look.

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.

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

Winding Canyon #2

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Winding Canyon #2
Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Winding Canyon #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

We arrived at this spot in a badlands canyon after the morning golden hour but a bit earlier than I usually get there. The route to this view passes by so much interesting stuff that I inevitably get sidetracked, and I tend to reach this spot after the best light. But on this morning, having photographed here not too long ago, I resisted some of those early temptations. The light was still appealing and the desert haze added a nice quality to the atmosphere.

A few weeks ago I shared another photograph of this scene — that one was presented in horizontal landscape orientation. Why share another when that is the biggest difference? Lots of reasons! Sometimes one or the other format is obviously more successful, but in this case they are different but equally valid ways of seeing this landscape. I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is one “right” way to see a landscape.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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