G Dan Mitchell | Photography

Salt Flats Near Badwater. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Evening on the salt flats near Badwater - Death Valley National Park.

I have to admit that this is a bit of a cliche photography location. I’ve been both lucky and unlucky when shooting here. In terms of photographs of the Panamint Range - which towers above the west side of Death Valley and is not really visible in this photo - I’ve been lucky: on several occasions I’ve had wonderful late afternoon clouds with light columns shining through as the sun dropped behind the mountains. On the other hand, I’ve found it difficult to shoot these formations on the salt flats. Earlier this year, I shot there with my my brother, who pointed me to a spot a bit south of where I had attempted to photograph these features in the past, and it turned to be a better location.

In my experience, photographing these “ridges on the salt flat” is a bit tricky. Continue Reading »

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.10.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »

Windows, Rhyolite School. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Windows of the abandoned school in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada look out over the Amargosa Desert. Students in the school who gazed out the western windows of the building were looking across a high sagebrush-filled valley at the range running along the eastern boundary of what is now Death Valley National Park.

keywords: ghost town, rhyolite, nevada, school, abandoned, ruins, mines, mining, historic, scenic, building, travel, death valley, national park, walls, windows, frame, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.09.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures :: No Comments »

Rhyolite School Interior. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Photograph of the interior of the Rhyolite School in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada.

Since it has been a little while since I posted the previous photo from this location, a little background. Rhyolite is a Nevada ghost town located near Beatty and just east of Death Valley National Park. The school building is one of the better preserved structures, although the roof and all interior fittings are long gone.

keywords: rhyolite, ghost town, abandoned, ruins, school, walls, windows, floor, wood, debris, sky, hillside, nevada, death valley, national park, desert, mines, mining, structure, scenic, historic, travel, grafitti, broken, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.08.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures :: No Comments »

Sunset, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Color photograph of sunset at Death Valley Dunes with the Funeral Mountains in the distance.

Yet another photograph from this evening shoot at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. Here the foot of the rugged mountain range along the east side of the Valley (variously called the Amargosa Range or the Funeral Range?) can be see in the distance beyond the dunes.

keywords: death valley, national park, dunes, sand, light, shadow, plants, sand, desert, funeral, mountains, wash, sunset, california, usa, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.07.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »

Transverse Dunes, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Color photograph of transverse Death Valley Dunes at sunset.

This is another photo from the shoot I described in yesterday’s post - a quick shoot from a roadside pullout as the day came to an end. We just barely arrived here in time (having arrived in the park just hours earlier) and ended up shooting with long lenses from this roadside vantage point.

While many people focus on the taller section of these dunes a bit further west (I’ve shot them also) this section of smaller “transverse dunes” further into the valley provides some very interesting shapes, textures, and colors.

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G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.06.2008 :: Commentary, Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »

Sand Waves - Death Valley Dunes at Dusk. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Color photograph of “sand waves” at dusk on the transverse dunes in front of the main Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park. Photographed after sunset as the last light began to fade.

A couple notes on the photograph… I had just barely arrived and set up camp when the light started to turn as sunset approached. My brother and I realized that we needed to “go now!” if we were to catch the light, so we jumped in the vehicle and had just enough time to get to this spot and pull over at the side of the road. There was no time to head out onto the dunes so I put the long lens (400mm) on the camera and approached the subject it a different way than I might have otherwise.

keywords: color, photo, photography, sand, waves, desert, plants, pink, blue, sunset, dusk, death valley, national park, dunes, funeral mountains, stock, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, california, usa, footprints

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.05.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: 1 Comment »

Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Color photograph of Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains - Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park. Photographed very early on a spring morning as the sun rose high enough above the dunes to cast these vary shallow shadows across the slope.

keywords: color, photo, photography, death valley, dunes, funeral, mountains, national park, california, usa, sand, morning, shadow, desert, morning, landscape, travel, scenic, stock, stovepipe, stove, pipe, wells

G Dan Mitchell :: Jun.04.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada - starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

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G Dan Mitchell :: May.25.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures :: No Comments »

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

keywords: death valley, national park, sand, dunes, ripples, waves, curves, desert, funeral, mountains, sky, clouds, hills, stovepipe wells, california, usa, peak, footprints, steps, morning, light, stock, scenic, travel, landscape

G Dan Mitchell :: May.24.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »

Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Dry mud formations at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, with Mount Tucki in the distance.

I came across this scene after I had pretty much finished my morning shoot of the dunes and was starting to head back to my car. These formations are found in the lower areas around the dunes - suggesting to me that they may underly a good portion of the dune area. Mount Tucki, in the distance, it a high point that dominates the landscape behind Stovepipe Wells.

keywords: mount, tucki, dry mud, formations, outcropping, desert, death valley, dunes, national park, plants, mountains, sand, sky, clouds, stovepipe, wells, spring, morning, light, stock, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa

G Dan Mitchell :: May.23.2008 :: Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert :: No Comments »