Tag Archives: twilight

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

Sunset Cloud, Desert Mountains

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Sunset Cloud, Desert Mountains
“Sunset Cloud, Desert Mountains” — A solitary cloud floats above the Death Valley landscape and catches the last sunset light.

This cloud was a luminous benediction at the end of a long and varied day that began before dawn along the shoreline of Lake Manly. After a late-morning break for coffee and food, I headed up into the Panamint Mountains to investigate recent snowfall. I timed my departure from there to give me time to get to this spot, an elevated location in Death Valley, in time for sunset.

I have realized that many of the landscape subjects that appeal to me are ephemeral. Like many photographers I am usually out during the edge hours around sunrise and sunset, when the light is the most transitory. I also love interesting and sometimes wild weather conditions — wind, precipitation, fog, isolated clouds forming momentarily above the landscape. This scene had a cloud that was shrinking and changing shape, along with the last bits of colorful sunset light before dusk.

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: Sky, Photographs: Southern California

Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly

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Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly
“Pre-Dawn Clouds, Lake Manly” — Pre-dawn clouds fill the sky above the Panamint Mountains reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

The brief interval between darkness and the arrival of the morning sun may be my favorite time of day in the desert. Everything is still and quiet, and I’m often the only person around. The temperature is comfortable, and sometimes as close to cool as it will get. The light changes perceptibly, transitioning from deep twilight blues toward the intensely warm colors of sunrise. And I have a full day ahead of me.

This time I was not completely alone, but I was close to it. The unusual reappearance of Lake Manly had drawn others, and I could see them in the distance on nearby hills. As the light increased, this large cloud above the valley came into focus and drifted slowly above the still waters of the lake and the reflected form of the distant Panamint Mountains.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Alpine Lake and Peaks

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Evening, Alpine Lake and Peaks
The view from an alpine wilderness lake overlooks high peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada.

Evening, Alpine Lake and Peaks. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The view from an alpine wilderness lake overlooks high peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada.

Experiencing the high country brings all sorts of rewards — the thrill of high peaks, the beauty of a summer meadow, the (mostly) joy of traversing forests and crossing creeks, and much more. Many of these are immediately accessible, and you can enjoy them just by getting out of your car and walking a little. Some take a bit longer, perhaps requiring an overnight stay away from roads. Still others only come after a relatively long time on the trail — long enough to almost forget that there was another life before you started walking.

Some of these experiences are, at least for me, both remarkable and a bit difficult to put into words. This evening just west of the Southern Sierra crest was one of those times. I was part of a small group of friends who had grown comfortable backpacking together over the years. We were nine days out on a trans-Sierra trip, and we had fully settled into the routines of the trail. In the morning we would get up very early and ascend the highest peak in the range before making the 7000′ descent to the trailhead and the “real world.” But on this evening there was nothing more important to do than wander slowly around this lake and gaze at distant ridges as the day came to an end.

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: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Digital Solutions

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Digital Solutions
Street scene in Lower Manhattan, evening.

Digital Solutions. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in Lower Manhattan, evening.

Considering that I have recently shared photograph from our December 2021 visit to pandemic-stricken New York City, you might think that this photograph, with its appropriately empty street and sidewalk, might come from that trip. You would be incorrect. This photograph comes from our last visit before the Great Lockdown, back in the late winter of 2019, when we spent a week wandering freely around Manhattan, stopping wherever we wanted to for food and drink, wandering into museums, and mingling in crowds. The quiet scene shown here was, at that time, the exception to the rule.

If I recall correctly, I made the photograph on a relatively long we made from Midtown all the way down to Lower Manhattan, starting in the afternoon and ending around sunset. This photograph comes from that wonderful time of day when it isn’t yet dark — and buildings are still lit by the fading ambient light — but the lights of businesses and offices have started to come on, illuminating interiors and spilling light out onto the sidewalks.

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.