Tag Archives: travel

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Nature

Desert Mountains, Blowing Dust

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Desert Mountains, Blowing Dust
Immense desert mountains partially obscured by blowing dust.

Desert Mountains, Blowing Dust. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Immense desert mountains partially obscured by blowing dust.

For some reason, this week I seem to be reviewing photographs from Death Valley and many of them want to be monochrome. This is the second in two days. Recently I’ve been thinking about the subject of rugged, desert ridges receding into distant haze, and when I came across this old raw file it seemed to fit right into that theme.

My recollection (not completely certain, since the photo was made nearly eight years ago) is that we were headed up Death Valley towards a dust storm rising in the flats and dunes north of Stovepipe Well. That’s not an uncommon occurrence at this time of year. The atmosphere was filled with that diffuse haze that often develops around dust storm, and as we approached the source of the blowing sand we began to see clouds of dust rising above the landscape in the center of the valley.

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

Dunes, Sandstorm

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Dunes, Sandstorm
Diffused light and atmosphere as a sandstorm rises above desert dunes.

Dunes, Sandstorm. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Diffused light and atmosphere as a sandstorm rises above desert dunes.

This photograph comes from a memorable early spring visit to Death Valley National Park back in 2013. (I know… what visit to Death Valley isn’t memorable, right?!) This day brought a fairly big sandstorm to the Valley, and I worked on photographing it in different locations and in a variety of ways — trying to focus on the atmosphere itself, on subjects made nearly opaque by the dust and brilliant light, attempts to capture the power of the dust-laden wind. This photograph perhaps comes closer to most of them in representing a subject that might be recognizable.

Photographing in these conditions is quite an experience, one that I’ve had more than a few times. On one hand, the scene can be overpowering and quite astonishing. Typically, aside from heat, these desert scenes can seem quite benign, mostly nearly static and quiet — in fact, immense stillness and quiet are among the most characteristic qualities of the desert landscape. But when such storms arise the experience is completely different and quite overpowering. It becomes difficult — sometimes bordering on impossible — to do much besides hunker down and wait for the conditions to subside.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Garden Wall Arches

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Garden Wall Arches
A texture wall with archest next to a small garden, Balboa Park.

Garden Wall Arches. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A texture wall with archest next to a small garden, Balboa Park.

This photograph comes from a set that I made during a visit to the San Diego area back in 2013. We were in the Los Angeles Basin, and decided to head south for a short visit. We ended up spending time at the city’s Balboa Park, one of the most impressive city park sites I’ve seen.

At times we simply strolled around the grounds, without any particular immediate agenda. This gave me plenty of opportunities to play with photographic ideas that just cropped up — nothing iconic, and often more about shape and texture and color, as in this photograph of a section of arches in a wall above a garden and colored with both warm and cool tones of 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.

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: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco

Bay Reflections, Morning

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Bay Reflections, Morning
Bronze morning light reflects on the surface of San Francisco Bay and silhouettes Alcatraz and Treasure Islands.

Bay Reflections, Morning. © Copyright 2013 Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bronze morning light reflects on the surface of San Francisco Bay and silhouettes Alcatraz and Treasure Islands.

Happy New Year! Let’s start 2021 with a sunrise. 2020 was a year we all want to put behind us as soon as possible — to move on as a country, to get through the worst of this pandemic and see vaccines take effect, to travel again, to see friends and relatives in person, to eat out and go to concerts and, all in all, perhaps find a bit of normalcy once again. So, perhaps the best wish is: Happier New Year!

The photograph is of San Francisco Bay, photographed not long after sunrise on a very early spring morning a few years ago. The conditions were a bit unusual — prevalent thin fog rather than the more typical strands of the stuff. I photographed directly toward the rising sun, capturing the metallic colors and textures of the Bay waters along with Alcatraz Island, Treasure Island, and the far shores of the East Bay.

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.