Tag Archives: winter

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

Panamint Sky

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Panamint Sky
“Panamint Sky” — Morning winter sky above the Panamint Range and Lake Manly.

Lake Manly, the ephemeral lake that appears in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin in unusually wet seasons, is gradually shrinking once again. It was very large in early 2025, and again quite large early this year. It is starting to dry out and it will likely begone soon. For now though, it is still impressive, especially if you stand at its edge early in the morning, and doubly so when clouds fill the sky.

I chose black and white for this photograph of the lake because monochromegives me a great deal of interpretive freedom, in many way s more so than with color. As a starting point, black and white never can claim to be an accurate representation of the world of colors, and this frees us from notions that a photograph must always aspire to look like what we saw. In this case, monochrome allows me to draw attention to this remarkable winter desert sky.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Lake Manly, Winter Sky

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Lake Manly, Winter Sky
“Lake Manly, Winter Sky” — Winter sky and its reflection in Lake Manly.

Yes, this is a desert! We are back from our second recent visit to Death Valley. On the first we experienced cool temperatures and rain at the end of December. Since the prospects looked good for wildflowers in the months ahead we booked a late-February return visit. There’s always a lot to photograph in Death Valley but, as a friend pointed out, the stars of the show right now are the wildflowers and Lake Manly. I photographed both, but I’ll start with Lake Manly.

For those who may not know, Lake Manly forms in the Badwater Basin during exceptionally wet years. It was deeper and larger last year, but it is still there and covers a lot of the salt flats. We visited early in the morning this time. The clouds suppressed any brilliant sunrise colors, but as a counterpoint they produced beautiful patterns in the sky which were reflected in the waters of Lake Manly.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Death Valley Wildflowers

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Death Valley Spring Wildflowers
“Death Valley Wildflowers” — Hillsides covered with wildflowers after a wet winter in Death Valley.

We just returned from another visit to Death Valley National Park. Wildflowers are blooming in California’s deserts and the show is far from over. It has been an odd weather year in California, but desert areas received abundant well-timed rainfall that is producing an above average (and perhaps earlier than usual?) wildflower bloom. We saw the potential back in December and scheduled our return to the park accordingly. We were not disappointed.

Is this one of the proverbial “super bloom” years? Few are using that term at the present moment, but it is clearly an above average year. Some areas, like this gravel fan below desert hills, are covered with fields of desert gold flowers. Small flowers are underfoot everywhere. Other locations are green with sprouting plants that will continue to produce new blooms over coming weeks.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Egret Portrait

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Great Egret Portrait
“Great Egret Portrait” — A “head shot” of a great egret.

Great egrets are a common sight here in California, from the coastline to inland wetlands and creeks. Their distinctive white plumage makes them stand out in almost any landscape. It doesn’t hurt that they are quite large, too — the largest of several different egret species. I photographed this one at a wetland area in California’s Central Valley on a foggy day that softened the light.

In some ways it is easy to photograph them, but in others it can be tricky. It is a bit easier to fill the frame with an egret since the birds are large. They also tolerate human presence… up to a point. So, it isn’t too hard to photograph them on the ground. Catching them in flight is a different matter. Most often they will be flying away from me, and when they take off they often do so suddenly and without much warning.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.