Tag Archives: wilderness

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

Dry Panamint Flowers

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Dry Panamint Flowers
Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

Dry Panamint Flowers. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

The title “Panamint Flowers” refers not to the identification of the flowers, but to the place where I photographed them, high in the mountains of Death Valley National Park. I was there back in January for a four-day visit. The photography was challenging — conditions were less than ideal — so on several occasions I simply went off exploring. On this day I was way out along a lonely gravel road in the Panamint Range when I spotted an old mining site off to one side. I stopped to take a look, and soon my attention shifted from the historical site to the thousands of dry flowers on the surrounding vegetation.

In retrospect, it was very fortunate that I made this trip in the January. Every year I head to Death Valley around the end of March and beginning of April for that brief interval between winter and the arrival of extremely hot and dry weather. That visit isn’t going to happen this year as national parks are shutting down and we are all sheltering in place to slow the spread of corona virus.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Peaks And Sunset Clouds

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Peaks And Sunset Clouds
Colorful sunset clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada

Peaks And Sunset Clouds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful sunset clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

The High Sierra can be a place of remarkable and striking light… but more often the conditions revolve around successive days of perfectly blue, cloud-free skies. That is probably among the reason the place is called the “range of light,” but it also can be challenging for photographers hoping for special, unusual, and striking conditions. Yes, we complain about “perfect, blue-sky conditions!

But eventually, even in this gentle range, the conditions do change. Most often in the summertime Sierra the change comes from periodic intrusions of monsoonal moisture that bring a few days of thunderstorms. On our recent trip we got a bit of that on our hike in… and then, a week later, on our hike out. For the rest of our stay was almost under those “perfect” conditions… except for our last evening, when the Sierra presented us with these beautiful sunset clouds, producing a beautiful luminous benediction to our visit.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tree, Lake, Granite Bench

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Tree, Lake, Granite Bench
A solitary tree grows along the shoreline of an alpine lake below Sierra Nevada granite benches

Tree, Lake, Granite Bench. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary tree grows along the shoreline of an alpine lake below Sierra Nevada granite benches.

This is another “quiet light” photograph, made during the “edge of the day” times when the light is muted and soft, when the glow of light on nearby rocks gently enters the scene. During these hours, especially in the morning, the air is still and cool, the reflective surface of water is unbroken, and the world is a quiet place.

I made this photograph very near to our weeklong backcountry base camp, in a high, rocky spot nestled in the curving shore of an 11,000′ lake in a valley full of meadows, boulders, and running water. The high valley was surrounded by even higher peaks, and every morning before the sun rose above those ridges we have and hour of more of this light.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Waterfall And Late-Season Lupine

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Waterfall And Late-Season Lupine
Late-season lupines bloom in rocky terrain below a high country Sierra Nevada waterfall.

Waterfall And Late-Season Lupine. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-season lupines bloom in rocky terrain below a high country Sierra Nevada waterfall.

Our visit to this location, at 11,000′ in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, took place during the last few days of August and the first two days of September. Yes, we were there on Labor Day — and we watched lots more people show up on that last weekend! Most people regard this as the end of the backcountry season. The daylight hours decrease noticeably, and while the weather remains generally beautiful there may be a chill in the air a bit more frequently.

In a typical year the Sierra Nevada high country often becomes rather dry by this time. During August the meadows usually turn golden brown, stream flows diminish, and most wildflowers are just a memory. But in wet years – and this was one of those — there can be a colorful surprise for late-season visitors. We arrived to find lots of flowing water, meadows that still were green in many places, and even copious wildflowers. Here we found huge beds of blooming lupines, an unusual site for the start of September!

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.