Tag Archives: sunset

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

Dark Hills, Death Valley

April 14, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dark hills contrast with surrounding salt flats and alluvial fans

I know that “dark hills” is not a very poetic description for this landscape… but it does seem, at least, to be accurate! These formations have intrigued me for a few years, and I’ve been surprised to be able to photograph them all alone — despite visiting them regularly, I have never encountered another person there. I’m not sure why, except that there are some better known icons nearby, and perhaps they attract all of the others in the area.

In the past I tried to find out more about the source of the formations and my recollection (which I was unable to re-verify this time) is that they are the result of some kind of ancient tufa-like deposits formed on the bottom of the lake that once filled the basin that is now Death Valley. Their darker color contrasts strikingly with the surrounding terrain, and the material of the mounts has a finely layered quality. This example sits on a small playa where pooling water seems to have left salt deposits behind, though similar forms can also be found in slightly higher terrain nearby. In the evening the low light from the west angles across these mounds and makes their textures and curves a bit more visible.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Red Rock Panorama

March 26, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening glow on red rock landscape, Utah

I acknowledge that this color is pretty wild. This is partly a result of the way the camera sees in diminishing twilight, with colors saturating in surprising ways. The photograph was among the last couple I made on this evening when we continued photographing so late that it was about to become tricky finding our way back down in the near darkness. It is also the result of wild color in the sky — a bit of which you can see on the clouds in the upper portion of the frame — that fell on rock that is already quite red.

We had spent perhaps a couple of hours photographing in this terrain, focusing on the sensuous shapes of the curved sandstone, the odd cottonwood tree with fall color leaves, and bits of the surrounding landscape. It was a productive evening, working a group of six of us exploring, at times together, and times in smaller sub-groups, and sometimes alone. I didn’t really want to stop, since this isn’t the kind of location that I can easily return to — but eventually the light faded and our work was done for the day.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Sunset Sky, Trees

March 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter sunset sky above San Joaquin Valley trees

After a weekend photographing (and socializing!) in Yosemite Valley we headed back toward the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving the Valley early enough to make a stop along the way at one of our favorite bird locations. We arrived in the late afternoon and found a medium size group of Ross’s geese on a pond, but too far from us to photograph them effectively. What’s more, as we watched they began to leave, and before long there were few left at all. However, off in the distance I thought I saw groups of them beginning to land in a pasture next to a roadway that would provide access, so off we went to check this out.

There was a decent sized flock there, but they also moved off from our position and were just a bit too far away for great photography. We waited for a while, hoping that they might move back our way, but it never happened. However, the sky compensated a bit — just after the sun set a beautiful, colorful glow appeared in the western sky and I photographed the effect above a row of trees that I’ve had my eyes on for some time.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese in Flight, Dusk

February 19, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Flocks of Ross’s geese in flight in the winter evening sky above the San Joaquin Valley

It was near the end of a full late-January day of winter bird photography in California’s San Joaquin Valley. After seeing fewer birds (Ross’s geese, sandhill cranes, and more) than we expected earlier in the season, the new year had brought increased numbers that reminded me of previous years. We started this day before sunrise and kept at it almost all day, taking only a short break for a visit to a nearby area before returning to again photograph the birds in the late afternoon. As the afternoon wore on we began to look for a likely spot to photograph the birds at the end of the day. They could end up anywhere, but this time they congregated in an accessible spot along the edge of a gravel access road. Several of us parked along this road, positioning ourselves so that a large flock of Ross’s geese that had collected there would be between us and the sunset light on clouds.

The giant flock of Ross’s geese gradually edged to the east, and we moved several times in order to keep them positioned for best light and background. There was some continuous coming and going as birds flew off to other groups or flew in to join this one, but for the most part things were rather calm. Then, for no clear reason (an eagle flying overhead? Something else?) the entire flock lifted off suddenly right in front of us. This moment, which I have seen before, is unforgettable, not just for the huge clouds of birds turning and gradually spreading in the sky, but also for the sound — wild cries as the birds lift off, and the rushing noise of thousands of wings suddenly beating.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sunset

Dark Hills, Death Valley

Red Rock Panorama

Sunset Sky, Trees

Geese in Flight, Dusk

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