A few years a small group of us were headed into a beautiful Utah canyon on a late-October morning. We were looking forward to photographing the colorful canyon walls, the river flowing along its path, and autumn cottonwood tree colors. But as we approached the canyon entrance, before the walls began to rise above us, we were distracted by an area filled with this brush with its own version of fall color.
Subjects like this – masses of brush with subtle color variations — are always a fun photographic challenge. They are easy to overlook when more obvious targets are nearby, but once I see them I am always intrigued. They constitute a particular class of subjects that appeal to me: subjects that seem like they should be easy to photograph but which end up being challenging once I start on them. Right off the bat the black skeletal forms coupled with the contrasting warm autumn tones and the bluish small branches are fascinating. But then the challenge becomes finding a composition in all of that dense detail.
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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
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