Tag Archives: twisting

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

Desert Canyon, Cloud Shadows

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Desert Canyon, Cloud Shadows
“Desert Canyon, Cloud Shadows” A twisting and colorful desert canyon empties in Death Valley under the shadows of passing clouds.

Light is everything when it comes to photographing the desert landscapes of Death Valley. The terrain is always impressive, but the midday light can be intense and harsh, washing out colors and muting details. But in the right light a feature that might look, well, “washed out” in that intense light can become beautiful. Add a few passing clouds to increase contrasts between light and shadow and things get even more interesting.

I don’t know the name of this little canyon or even if it has one. But I do know that there are canyons like it everywhere in this national park. Many are worth exploring, whether or not there is a trail. In many cases you can just walk carefully up the gravel fan to a canyon’s mouth and then follow a wash up among the quiet hills until you run out of time or the terrain becomes too difficult.

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: Events, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Twisting Trunks

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Twisting Trunks
A group of autumn aspen trees with twisting trunks

Twisting Trunks. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A group of autumn aspen trees with twisting trunks

Dense, twisting little aspen trees are common in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. In our imagination, aspen groves are full of tall, strong trees that stretch on for great distances. Such things exist in the Sierra, generally on a small scale, but they are not the norm. More typical are these stunted, twisting trees — which in many ways are more interesting than those perfect tall trees.

I wandered straight into one of these dense aspen groves as it fell into shadows late in the day. Compositions inside groves are often both plentiful and very difficult. There are interesting shapes and colors everywhere, but there are also complex distractions — oddly colored trees, branches extending into the scene, and more. These trees were more cooperative, twisting around one another in marvelous ways.

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

Twisting Desert Canyon

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Twisting Desert Canyon
A deep desert canyon winds between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Twisting Desert Canyon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A deep desert canyon winds between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

In a recent post I mentioned that I had finished sharing photographs from my January visit to Death Valley. What I did not mention was that we were heading back in late March to make more photographs. With this post I begin sharing photographs from this second trip. Death Valley is never the same twice, and on this visit we encountered rain, snow, high winds, and much more. In fact, our visit to this canyon was partially intended to avoid the winds sweeping through the valley that day.

I am making an exception to my policy of usually not naming specific locations: this is from Titus Canyon. A long, popular, and quite remarkable road traverses this route, starting in Nevada, climbing through high mountains, then descending a deep canyon to emerge in Death Valley. Last year’s historical rainfall damaged the road, and the only access is now by hiking. I write “damaged,” but the truth is that, at least in the lower canyon that we visited, the road was actually “obliterated.” There are literally no traces of it at all. It was a rare treat to experience this canyon as it must have been before automobiles.

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

Winding Canyon #2

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Winding Canyon #2
Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Winding Canyon #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

We arrived at this spot in a badlands canyon after the morning golden hour but a bit earlier than I usually get there. The route to this view passes by so much interesting stuff that I inevitably get sidetracked, and I tend to reach this spot after the best light. But on this morning, having photographed here not too long ago, I resisted some of those early temptations. The light was still appealing and the desert haze added a nice quality to the atmosphere.

A few weeks ago I shared another photograph of this scene — that one was presented in horizontal landscape orientation. Why share another when that is the biggest difference? Lots of reasons! Sometimes one or the other format is obviously more successful, but in this case they are different but equally valid ways of seeing this landscape. I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is one “right” way to see a landscape.

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.