Tag Archives: wash

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

Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point

May 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The folded hill and gully patterns along the edge of Gower Wash at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Having shot at Zabriskie Point often enough to feel less urgency about shooting the famous and iconic views… yet again… (unless conditions are truly exceptional), I’ve been looking for other elements in the scene. Last year I became interested in using very long lenses to isolate interesting small sections of the scene. I have to say that it is a lot more challenging and satisfying for me to look at the amazing number of potential subjects here that are not the justifiably famous images of Manley Beacon, the Panamints, and the panoramic view of Gower Wash. (I don’t want to get too full of myself here and make it sound like I’m “too good” to shoot the familiar views – in fact I still do point my camera in those directions when the light and other conditions are just right.)

This small section of cracked earth, small hills, and gullies sits right on the edge of the flatter and gravel-filled bottom of Gower Wash right below Zabriskie Point. I made this photograph early in the morning when the light of the sun was partially blocked by clouds to the east and I see a very subtle glow on the sides of these features that face east.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 190mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: death, valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, spring, nature, zabriskie, point, morning, gower, wash, earth, dirt, gravel, sand, gully, hill, eroded, crack, landscape, scenic, travel, light, geology, stock

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

Eroded Formations, Zabriskie Point

April 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small dry wash runs past folded patterns of eroded hills in morning light at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

This is another in my “up close and personal” sequence of photographs of details of the geology at Zabriskie Point. Zabriskie is undeniably an incredibly beautiful spot, but after photographing “the view” a number of times my attention was drawn to some of the smaller details of the surrounding terrain. While I’ll still shoot the famous view(s) from this location when conditions are special, I now spend more time using a long lens to pick out small elements of the scene – and there are a lot of them to work with!

On this morning the light was, at times, very special. When I made this photograph the typical sidelight from the early sun was diffused and filtered by some high clouds in the east, and this soft light is different than what I’ve seen here before – it seems to me to have a subtle glow.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 150mm
ISO 200, f/14, 1/40 second

keywords: zabriskie, point, gower, gulch, wash, folds, eroded, hills, formations, crack, earth, desert, barren, morning, light, sand, gravel, tan, brown, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, detail, landscape, nature, stock, geology, scenic, travel, dry, hill, gully

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

Sunlit Gully, Zabriskie Point

April 17, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Photograph of a sunlit gully in afternoon light at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Zabriskie Point is a justifiably famous overlook in Death Valley National Park – arguably the iconic view of the park, with the pyramid-shaped Manley Point above amazingly folder patterns of hills and gullies and with Death Valley and the sometimes snow topped summit of the Panamint Range beyond. (OK, the dunes might compete with Zabriskie in the Icon department…)

Everyone photographs at Zabriskie, and I’m no exception. However, my approach to this location has changed over time. At first any Zabriskie sunrise seems worth photographing, and in all honesty sunrise there is an amazing experience in all but the worst conditions. Eventually, though, you become a bit more discerning and not just any sunrise will do. I’ll generally only shoot sunrise there now if I think that the conditions will be extra spectacular, usually meaning some combination of clear or otherwise interesting lower atmosphere, perhaps snow on the Panamints, and some interesting clouds overhead. But even that is starting to feel a bit overworked.

Recently I’ve been trying to figure out what (and how) to photograph here without doing “the usual thing.” Several ideas have come to mind. Earlier I posted a photograph of the Manifold formation made at night under a full moon, and I think there is still more potential there. As others have done, I’ve played around with trying to find shooting locations other than the familiar one near the overlook. This photograph is an attempt to combine two other approaches that I’m working on – detail shots of small elements of the scene made with a long lens and shots made during the day at times other than the “normal” sunrise time.

I first saw this small gully a couple years ago when I happened to stop at Zabriskie during the mid-morning period on my way back from shooting somewhere else. Initially I just thought I’d wander up the path from the parking lot, scout things out a bit, and move on. But as I looked at the scene I realized that not all parts of this spot are necessarily best lit at sunrise, and that some actually can become interesting during the less obvious times of day. This is one attempt at a further exploration of this particular twisting gully, here shot in very bright daytime sun light only slightly diffused by high thin clouds.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/125 second

keywords: zabriskie, point, fold, gully, hill, pattern, light, shadow, ridge, brown, golden, wash, rugged, gravel, dirt, geology, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, desert, formation, afternoon, winding, stock

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

Eroded Terrain Near Natural Bridge Canyon

April 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Rugged and eroded terrain near the entrance to Natural Bridge Canyon in morning light at Death Valley National Park, California.

Natural Bridge Canyon is located at the foot of the Amargosa Range Black Hills just a short distance north of the popular Badwater area. As is typical of many of the canyon entrances in Death Valley, the approach is by leaving the main road paralleling the edge of the Valley and driving up a large alluvial fan on a gravel road towards the hills. The road ends and the canyon quickly narrows.

This photograph was made along this gravel approach road and shows a bit of the fan in the foreground, the cliffs alongside the was in the middle distance, and beyond that the convoluted and colorful strata of the lower section of the mountain range, here with low-angle back light from the morning sun coming from the other side of the mountains. This photograph also shows something that I found remarkable on this visit, namely the incredible profusion of plant life that was coming to live in the wake of some unusually heavy rain fall earlier in the season. During normal years and during most of the year even in wet years you’ll see almost no green at all on terrain like this aside from a few small and isolated bushes. But on this late-March visit there was plant life springing up everywhere. When I looked closely I could find a fringe of green almost everywhere. Here, not only is there obvious growth in the gravel of the wash at the bottom of the frame, but there is a fringe of green along the edges of the cliff and even in the far distance on the higher slopes.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 73mm
ISO 200, f/13, 1/40 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, scenic, travel, nature, desert, rugged, erosion, eroded, mountains, hill, cliff, gully, wash, pink, strata, layer, green, plant, growth, spring, rock, morning, light, natural, bridge, canyon, landscape, nature, stock, plants, rock, gravel, red, black, amargosa

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