Low clouds hug the edge of the Argus Range to the west of Panamint Valley.
The normal assumption is that Death Valley and its surroundings are hot and dry. In fact, that is often the case — not much rain falls there in a typical year, and it can be unbearably hot. But the climate in and around the park is a lot more varied than many realize. I’ve been snowed on there several times, and not just in the mountains. I even recall seeing a few flakes one early April at Scotty’s Castle! This photograph — on a day with rain and snow in the mountains — comes from the last week of winter.
I made the photograph in Panamint Valley, on the west side of the Panamint Mountains, the tallest range in the park. Those mountains were at my back as I made this photograph looking west. The high clouds marked the receding edge of a weather system that was producing rain and snow on the higher peaks. The fascinating band of “high fog” was forming over the edge of the snow-capped Argus Range in the wake of the front’s passage.
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.
Tags: argus range mountains panamint valley low clouds line sky desert arid snow peaks black and white monochrome landscape nature weather death valley national park california usa north america
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Stormy skies above the St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Roman Catholic Church in Trona, California.
The town of Trona feels like a dying place. It sits at the edge of Death Valley National Park, and its industry is extracting minerals from the giant dry lake in Searles Valley. It is a hot, dry, dusty place, and a large factory operates in the town. Over the years that I’ve visited the number of abandoned and boarded up homes and businesses has increased. While people do still live there, you might overlook that as you drive through. This intriguing church sits along the highway, wedged between the town and the dry lake.
The church has intrigued me since I first saw it many years ago. Though I have passed many times, I have never seen people there or even a car parked in the surrounding gravel parking lot. It is one of the least aesthetic Catholic Churches I have ever seen, looking entirely functional. It stands implacably in this rough landscape. On the day I photographed it the wind was blowing and storm clouds had gathered over the distant Panamint Mountains.
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.
Tags: st. saint madeline sophie barat roman catholic church building stark architecture trona california desert arid searles valley storm clouds sky black and white monochrome landscape town travel usa north america
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Layes of desert mountain ridges stretch to the east, Death Valley National Park.
This is one of those “photograph the thing you did not go for” photographs, seen while mostly focusing on an entirely different subject. I was in Death Valley partly because I go there every year at about this time, and partly because I wanted to photograph the rare appearance of Lake Manly. This lake reformed following heavy rains in the desert starting late last summer. On this morning I went to a point high above the valley to photograph the broad setting of the lake and to use long lenses to isolate details. But the lake is nowhere in this photograph…
… because this scene was in the opposite direction! I arrived well before sunrise, and while I waited for some of that sun to arrive in the valley the horizon to the east put on a spectacular show. Obviously the pre-dawn sky was impressive with its intense and varied colors. But the vast area visible from this point produced beautiful atmospheric recession over the layered ridges stretching into the far distance.
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.
Tags: death valley national park dantes view point desert arid rugged mountain ridges peaks haze atmospheric recession clouds morning sky nature landscape travel california usa north america
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A smaller pizzeria at the end of a dark alley, Venice at night.
We spent time in Venice during our summer 2023 travels. We had been to Italy before but — it is almost embarrassing to admit — we had bypasses Venice. I suppose we had mixed feelings. On one hand, it is notorious for the throngs of tourists that pack the place during the summer months. On the other hand, it is Venice! So we went, and we’re very glad we did.
We (and by “we” I refer to Patty, who is a master planner) managed to find a wonderful little place to stay that was in a quiet corner of the city. Even during the busy hours there was never a tourist crush there, and in the evening and early morning it was downright quiet — even though the busy places began only minutes away. I made this photograph on an evening walk down one of the famously narrow Venice passageways, pointing the camera down an even smaller side passage toward this restaurant.
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.
Tags: venice italy venezia ristorante pizzeria doorway night walkway sidewalk alley dark shadows interior travel urban street europe
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Photographed from high above, the waters of temporary Lake Manly meed the edge of Death Valley salt flats.
The star attraction of the season in Death Valley has been the reemergence of historic Lake Manly in the hottest, driest, and lowest area of the valley near Badwater. Geologists tell us that the original version of this lake once filled the valley floor, and there’s abundant evidence: old waterlines high on valley hillsides, the tufa formations, and the salt flats themselves. A huge and unusual tropical storm brought heavy rains to the area last year, and more recent precipitation has helped to keep it going.
Since seeing this lake is such a rare event, I made it a focus of my recent visit to the park. I photographed it several times, from different points of view, at different times of day, and in different conditions. I made this photograph very early in the morning from the overlook at Dantes View. As the shadows receded and sunlight arrived on the lake and surrounding terrain I made a series of photographs with long lenses, highlighting the abstract patterns and colors of the flooded playa.
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.
Tags: death valley national park lake manly salt flat playa blue white dantes view temporary landscape nature abstract pattens badwater desert california usa north america
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