One day off from 4 years ago. Waking up in Death Valley, and hiking up some hills @jenschuetz, @rcarver, and @gblakeman.

Edited with @aphera.

#photography #DeathValley

“Sand Patterns” — Patterns in sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Our main photographic targets during our late-February trip to Death Valley were Lake Manly and the impressive wildflower bloom, but we did schedule one morning visit to the sand dunes. We arrived well before sunrise when it was dark too see our way into the dunes. Unfortunately, this was not to be a morning for grand dune photographs, since morning overcast blocked the sunlight. So instead we focused on small subjects — plants and flowers, the morning traces of the passage of wildlife, and textures of windblown sand…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/03/26/sand-patterns-3/

#deathvalley #sand #dunes #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography #nature

“Desert Gold Flowers” — Three desert gold flowers, Death Valley.

A good number of my recent Death Valley (almost?) superbloom photographs feature vast fields of these yellow flowers. Because they appear in large numbers, standing tall and swaying in the wind, they are among the most obvious visual evidence of the bloom. It occurred to me that I rarely photograph them close up, so here’s an attempt t rectify that omission…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/03/22/desert-gold-flowers/

#deathvalley #bloom #wildflowers #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotography #nature

Some thriving purple flowers we found in Golden Canyon in #deathvalley. These might be purple mats, though there are a couple of different purple flower types in the area.

At any rate, these strivers were putting on a show despite blooming in an unlikely location.

“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

Good to know! 👍

Honestly, I can’t tell if this sign was meant as a warning or if there used to be an actual trail there so you could go check out the snake superhighway. #deathvalley