“Morning Clouds, Lake Manly” — Morning clouds and distant mountains reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

Arriving at Lake Manly to photograph on this late-February morning, I would have rated the conditions as “OK but not stupendous.” I was hoping for a colorful desert sunrise over the reflecting waters of the temporary lake, but clouds muted the intensity and color of the light. My practice is to not give up but to instead find other ways of seeing the landscape. I kept photographing, and soon realized that the morning was special in different ways than I had expected…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/05/27/morning-clouds-lake-manley/

#deathvalley #lakemanly #photo #photography #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography #nature

“Lake Manly Shoreline” — Lake Manly and desert mountains with morning clouds.

A spectacular cloud deck floated above Death Valley on this winter morning. While the clouds were a bit too thick to let brilliant sunrise colors develop, they created a very dramatic sky and its reflection on the surface of Lake Manly. The photograph looks north across the lake from its salty southern shoreline…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/03/20/lake-manly-shoreline/

#deathvalley #lakemanly #classicmono #photography #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography #nature

“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…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/03/09/panamint-sky-2/

#sky #deathvalley #lakemanly #clouds #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography

“Distant Mountains, Reflection” — Manly Lake reflects distant mountains and morning haze.

The scale of Death Valley is monumental. It is one of the few National Parks where you encounter distances so great that faraway features disappear into the light and haze. The absence of familiar reference points like trees makes it harder to comprehend these distances. It is perhaps a mile to the nearby hills in this photograph, but the distant mountain range is many tens of miles away…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/02/07/distant-mountains-reflection/

#deathvalley #lakemanly #desert #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography

“Telescope Peak, Lake Manly” — Panamint Range and Telescope Peak reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

This photograph incorporates at least two elements that might surprise people unfamiliar with Death Valley National Park — a large lake and snow-dusted mountain peaks. Telescope Peak, the highest point on the Panamint Range summit ridge, rises just above 11,000′, putting its summit in the alpine zone. It is normal to see snow there during the winter months…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/02/02/telescope-peak-lake-manly/

#deathvalley #desert #mountains #lakemanly #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography

“At the Edge of Lake Manly, Sunrise” — Solitary figure at the edge of Lake Manly and the reflection of a desert mountain sunrise.

Most of my landscape photographs include little or no evidence of human presence. But sometimes including a human figure can transform a photograph. (I suggest obscuring the figure with the tip of your finger to see how much it changes things.) The person obviously provides a focal point, but also invites viewers to imagine themselves in the scene…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/19/person-at-the-edge-of-lake-manly-sunrise/

#deathvalley #nationalpark #lakemanly #desert #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography

Lake Manly has returned to Death Valley after winter rains, but NPS is discouraging boating and urging visitors to protect the fragile basin. A rare desert lake making a brief comeback. #DeathValley #LakeManly #NationalParks #Climate #DesertRain

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/death-valleys-lake-manly-returns-after-recent-rains/amp/

“Wading Lake Manly” — A person wades in the shallow water of Lake Manly, with early morning Death Valley mountains reflected in the water.

Even after photographing for decades, I’m still often astonished by how the presence of a small human figure can crystallize and focus a scene. (To understand this, use your finger to cover the person and note how different the photograph feels.) I’m not sure if it is simply due to adding a focal point or something about how our brains respond to the presence of other people…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/12/30/wading-lake-manly/

#Landscape #Mountain #Nature #Outdoors #People #deathvalley #nationalpark #desert #lakemanly #landscapephotography #photography #photo

“Lake Manly Sky” — Early morning clouds and the Panamint Mountains reflected in Lake Manly, Death Valley.

As a landscape photographer I spend a lot of time trying to predict the light. But it is a fickle thing, and it often changes in ways that cannot be anticipated. That was the case on this winter solstice morning in Death Valley. We drove down to Badwater to photograph Lake Manly, the occasional lake that forms on the playa after heavy rains. We arrived before sunrise, and for a brief moment the light was brilliantly intense… before the sun moved behind clouds to the east, laving a softer effect…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/12/28/lake-manly-sky/

#deathvalley #nationalpark #desert #sunrise #lakemanly #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #photography #photo

“Panamint Sunrise, Lake Manly” — The winter solstice sunrise illuminates the Panamint Mountains, reflected in the surface of Lake Manly.

We were in Death Valley National Park just before Christmas, arriving the afternoon before the winter solstice and departing on Christmas Eve Day. There are lots of reasons to visit this landscape in the winter, including the reappearance of Lake Manly for the second time this year. In prehistoric times this Lake was much larger and deeper, but in wet years a remnant appears, and shallow water spreads across the lowest part of the valley...continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/12/27/panamint-sunrise-lake-manly/

#deathvalley #DEVA #sunrise #desert #lakemanly #nature #landscape #reflection #landscapephotography #photo #photography