Tag Archives: transverse

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

Dunes at Dusk

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Dunes at Dusk
Soft dusk light on low sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Dunes at Dusk. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft dusk light on low sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

This subject is going to appear in several photographs from our late-March visit to Death Valley National Park. Some of them will focus on the astonishing power of a dust storm that swept through near the end of the trip. However, this one comes from a different evening, a quiet one with gentle winds and soft light.

The conditions make all the difference when photographing dunes, More than almost any other sort of landscape, the appearance of sand dunes varies greatly depending upon intensity, quality, and color of light. Here I photographed in the early twilight just after the sun had dropped behind distant mountains in the west. The dunes picked up the pink of the sunset, the blue of the sky, and the softness of indirect light.

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

Evening Dunes

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Evening Dunes
Low dunes in soft evening side-light, Death Valley National Park.

Evening Dunes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Low dunes in soft evening side-light, Death Valley National Park.

Rather than being the result of a carefully planned and scheduled shoot, this photograph was a last-minute photograph of opportunity. We had spent the day in a remote location in Death Valley National Park, at the end of a long and rough backcountry road, where we had parked and hiked a few miles further into a canyon. The light in deep canyons tends to be best while the sun is still high in the sky, so we finished in the late afternoon and then drove out. We decided to stop for an early dinner and not worry about evening photography.

We finished dinner and as walked back to the vehicle it occurred to me that there was just enough light to squeeze in a bit of photography if we hurried to a nearby spot. We immediately parked and set up equipment as the last direct sunlight began to fade on the landscape below. I exposed three frames before the light was gone, and the soft light enhances the sensuous quality of all of those sand formations.

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.

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

Dunes, Mesquite Flat, Sunrise

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Dunes, Mesquite Flat, Sunrise
Mesquite Flat Dunes, Sunrise

Dunes, Mesquite Flat, Sunrise. Death Valley National Park, California. March 31, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light striking minor dunes on Mesquite Flat with Cottonwood Mountains wash and the Last Chance Range in the distance, Death Valley National Park.

These dunes are not too far from the main Mesquite Dunes near Stovepipe Wells – they are a bit further east from the better known tallest section of the dunes. The areas of lower dunes provide some very interesting shapes and textures on a smaller scale in some ways that those of the larger dunes. I photographed these with a long lens, shooting from a rise, at a point in time very shortly after the first morning light had struck the sand. The background hills, part of a very large alluvial fan at the base of the Cottonwood Mountains, were in the shadow of a cloud.

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

Amargosa Range and Transverse Dunes, Sunset

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Amargosa Range and Transverse Dunes, Sunset
Amargosa Range and Transverse Dunes, Sunset

Amargosa Range and Transverse Dunes, Sunset. Death Valley National Park, California. March 26, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on lower reaches of the Amargosa Range and the Kit Fox Hills above the Transverse Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California.

The Amargosa Range lies east of Death Valley and the Death Valley Dunes, and its foothills (called the “Kit Fox Hills,” if I’m not mistaken) here from a backdrop for the “transverse dunes,” the lower eastern portion of the Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. The dunes turn all sorts of interesting colors at and just after sunset on evenings when the light is just right, and the evening light brings out colors in the further hills and gullies that are generally washed out in the harsh midday light.

To get an idea of the scale of the scene consider that the photograph was made with a rather long focal length of nearly 400mm and that the very subtle line along the base of the hills is the roadway running north towards Scotty’s Castle. Walking out to the dunes along the lower edge of the photograph might take a half hour or so.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 370mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/50 second

keywords: kit fox, hills, mountains, amargosa, range, alluvial, fan, desert, transverse, dunes, mesquite, gully, geology, grapevine, foothills, shadow, sunset, dusk, wash, evening, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, travel, scenic, wilderness, landscape, nature, barren, light, stock