Tag Archives: travel

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

Sand Storm Clouds

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Sand Storm Clouds
Sand storm clouds narly obliterate the llight above dones and mountains

Sand Storm Clouds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sand storm clouds nearly obliterate the light above dunes and mountains.

Desert sand (or dust) storms are complicated things, bringing extraordinarily difficult conditions but also sometimes amazing visual opportunities. Operating within the worst of them is almost impossible, especially for a photographer trying to manage sensitive equipment and lenses… and manage to see and breathe. It can be done, but most people should not try. (I once read a semi-official description of Death Valley sand storm conditions on the dunes, in which the writer basically said, in no uncertain terms, “Don’t even try.” And then followed up with a description of the steps necessary to function in the storm… which would likely dissuade any sane person.) I’ve been caught in these storms more than once, even camping in a couple of them. I can assure you that it was not at all pleasant.

Yet these storms are also powerful and awe-inspiring events. (“Awesome” in the original sense of provoking awe.) I recall once a couple of years ago driving down into another such storm — much worse than this one — and listening to the sound of sand hitting the vehicle… and then the sound of small pebbles falling from the sky. That got my attention. To make this photograph I stopped along the edge of the storm, where the winds were very strong but had not yet picked up much sand and dust. Working handheld, since no tripod would stabilize a camera in these conditions, I stood in the lee of my vehicle for a few minutes and photographed across the blowing dust and the dunes toward the setting sun, whose light was a barely visible through the clouds.

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 and Amazon.

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

Stormy Evening, Sunset Light

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Stormy Evening, Sunset Light
Sunset light on peaks of the Amargosa Mountains, backed by stormy skies and sand storm dust.

Stormy Evening, Sunset Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on peaks of the Amargosa Mountains, backed by stormy skies and sand storm dust.

This is yet one more photograph from a wild Death Valley afternoon and evening in early April. Beforehand I was already aware of weather forecasts that included dust storms, and I anticipated both strong winds and perhaps other challenges… but also the possibility of some very special conditions of the atmosphere and light. Late in the afternoon, as the winds rose, we headed up the valley in the direction most likely to be affected by the combination of wind, sand, and rain. Sure enough, we soon ran into strong winds and blowing sand, and the mountains ahead were largely obscured by a sand and dust cloud blowing northeast out of the valley.

Photographing in these conditions is not easy nor particularly fun, to be honest. Most often the winds are too strong for even a stout tripod, and lens changes are very problematic. I often empty a set of strategies based around photographing from in or near a vehicle, of shooting handheld, and exposing myself to the worst conditions just long enough to get the shot — though I often quickly make several “safety shot,” given all of the variables in play. Just before sunset we ended up near the dunes that were the source of most of the sand. Here the winds were extremely strong and the conditions hellish. I got out briefly and worked from the shelter of the leeward side of the vehicle. This was one of the last photographs of the day, made as sunset light fell on some peaks of the Funeral Range, against a backdrop of storm clouds and with a bit of dust and virgo beginning to intrude on the right.

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 and Amazon.

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

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: People In Landscape, Photographs: Southern California

Two Hikers, Titus Canyon

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Two Hikers, Titus Canyon
Two hikers descending the narrows of Titus Canyon

Two Hikers, Titus Canyon. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two hikers descending the narrows of Titus Canyon.

Earlier this month I visited Death Valley National Park for a few days. I go there and photograph at least once each year — I’ve been visiting for a couple of decades and photographing the place seriously for about fifteen years. I often point out that there are few places where the effects of water are more obvious than in this unlikely location. Almost all features of the park are formed or sculpted by water, and these effects are very visible in the early bare desert landscape. I arrived only a day after extremely heavy rains, and the evidence was everywhere — flooded sections of roadway, wet and muddy washes, dunes that were still damp, large shallow lakes on playas.

Many park roads were closes, including the long dirt road through Titus Canyon. The road starts high in Amargosa Canyon, crosses the mountains, descends toward the Valley, and near the end passes through a section of very narrow canyon. Normally there is enough traffic there to interrupt the reverie of hikers, but the road was closed to vehicle traffic and we (some members of my family) and I enjoyed a long and quiet hike up the canyon. Here two hikers (my sister and her husband) are descending though one of the deeper and narrower sections of the canyon.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Behind The Wall

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Behind The Wall
The “backside” of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery

Behind The Wall. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The “backside” of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery.

A possible alternative title for this photograph could be “Back Side Gallery.” Get it? OK, I’ll explain. The wall is The Wall, a remnant of the old Berlin Wall. This section is now known as the East Side Gallery, and on the other side (the “front side”) it features a wonderful array of street art that memorializes and comments on the Wall, its history, and a range of related subjects.

The East Side Gallery is, among many other things (most of which are likely more significant than what I’m about to write) a powerful example of how art claims out attention and can, at least temporarily, distract our vision from the mundane. The location of this section of the wall is unremarkable. One one side (where most probably don’t look) is this empty field, a plain wall covered with graffiti, and not much else. On the other side, as you stand looking at the “Gallery” portion, behind you is a busy roadway and an area filled with architecture that is not exactly eye-catching. But if you stop and take in the street-art side of the wall and the impromptu street theater produced by visitors, all of the rest of that temporarily disappears.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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