Tag Archives: view

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

The Overlook

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The Overlook
A person stands on a high point overlooking Death Valley and distant mountains.

The Overlook. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A person stands on a high point overlooking Death Valley and distant mountains.

As I write this text, a few days before the photograph will post, it seems likely that this will be the final photograph in the series from my January visit to Death Valley National Park. I like to spend the better part of a week photographing there in the winter — the most pleasant and arguably the most beautiful time of the year there. (All bets are off if it is a good wildflower year!)

I shared a different photograph of this scene a few days ago. This one features a singe individual instead of a pair. Such a difference might seem small, but I think that the image of two people in such a place can evoke a different response than the image of a lone person in the immense landscape. I made this one in portrait (vertical) mode — partly because I think it works this way and partly because sometimes people are interested in a scene framed that way!

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

Distant Ridge, Dusk

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Distant Ridge, Dusk
A distant ridge in dusk light, viewed from a high point in Death Valley Naitonal Park.

Distant Ridge, Dusk. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A distant ridge in dusk light, viewed from a high point in Death Valley Naitonal Park.

This was just about the final photograph that I made at this location high in Death Valley National Park’s Black Mountains. I had arrived here well before sunset, remaining to photograph the light transitions as the day came to an end. The valleys directly below had gone dark by this point, so I quickly moved to a nearby spot and switched my attention from the west to the east, where a distant snow-capped ridge in Nevada was visible beneath the dusk sky.

In a previous post I mentioned that landscape photography isn’t always a slow, sedate process. It can be, but the light, sky, and landscape can also change very quickly. When I saw this late light I had to switch into “fast landscape” mode as the light quickly faded, and I managed to make a couple of exposures before the show was over and it was time to head back to camp.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Death Valley, Black Mountains Ridge, Sunset

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Death Valley, Black Mountains Ridge, Sunset
Looking across a Black Mountain ridge in sunset light toward Death Valley.

Death Valley, Black Mountains Ridge, Sunset. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Looking across a Black Mountain ridge in sunset light toward Death Valley.

It looks like I am getting nearer to the end of the photographs from my late-January visit to Death Valley National Park. As I mentioned previously, washed out roads and other issues forced me to change my plans after I arrived, as some of the more distant areas I hoped to visit were inaccessible. But that’s OK — instead I wandered into a few lonely places closer to major park landmarks that I had previously overlooked, and I even visited this popular place one evening. From this perch, high in the Black Mountains, I photographed the last bit of sunset light on a nearby ridge.

While photographing so-called icons isn’t my main thing, when the opportunity comes up and the conditions are right I am perfectly happy to take advantage. This was one of those times. I had a free evening when I hadn’t planned to photograph any other subjects, so I headed up here… and I recalled why it is such a popular place. I was also reminded, yet again, that landscape photography isn’t always a slow and sedate process — I barely had time to set up before the beautiful light on the foreground ridge faded.

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: People In Landscape

Evening Overlook

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Evening Overlook
Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Evening Overlook. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Late in the day during my recent Death Valley visit I went to this overlook. It is more typically a place to photograph the sunrise, which comes from camera-left and illuminates the big ridges in the distance. But I had a free evening, not a morning, so I figured it was worth a shot. I arrived before sunset, and I made this photograph before the sun had dropped behind the western ridge, though the haze and high clouds softened the light a bit.

I’ve never been able to quite describe in words the experience of standing on a very high point in such a vast landscape. From here one can look 5000′ down into Death Valley or look 6000′ up toward the highest peak in the Panamint Range and simultaneously feel “on top of the world” and very, very small in the presence of such immensity.

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.

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.