Plants, Canyon Light. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A beam of light catches plants growing on the shadowed walls of a Utah slot canyon.
While much of the time canyon light seems soft, suffused, and stable, there are edge conditions in which the light changes very quickly — appearing suddenly and lasting only minutes or seconds. This is especially true with direct light since the edges of the light are often scores or hundreds of feet above, and shadows from such things can traverse the deep canyon landscape with astonishing speed.
This photograph was made in such a place and in such conditions. The canyon walls were nearly parallel to the angle of the sun, and the beam of light came down from above only inches from the surface of the canyon wall. While the rock remains in shadow, this light manages to stoke the tree bits of vegetation in the scene.
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 and Amazon.
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