Category Archives: Photographs: Fall

Photographs of fall color

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Red Rock Mountains, Autumn Foliage

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Red Rock Mountains, Autumn Foliage
“Red Rock Mountains, Autumn Foliage” — Fall foliage along a creek below red rock mountains, Capitol Reef National Park.

This photograph contains the quintessential color palette of the Southwest in general and this Utah landscape in particular: red rock, green trees (here starting to pick up the golden tones of autumn), blue sky, and brown water. I made the photograph while looking for scenes of non-iconic subjects at Capitol Reef.

I ended up here partway through a long trip to photograph in Southern Utah. I photographed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef and Zion National Parks, and a few other more remote areas. This visit was some years ago, and I would like to return and investigate more of Capitol Reef National Park, a place where it seems that many of the most interesting features are some distance from the main tourist areas.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Morning Fog, Autumn Forest

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Morning Fog, Autumn Forest
“Morning Fog, Autumn Forest” — Morning fog darkens a dense autumn forest.

Sometimes there are photographs in (almost) your own backyard. As much as anyone else, I enjoy traveling to beautiful places to make photographs. But I can’t go to such places all the time, so it is fortunate that there are plenty of interesting things to see close by. In my area that might include the redwoods or the Pacific Ocean… or just a nearby rural area at the right time of year.

I made this photograph along a road that is far from famous. (Perhaps the only people who would know about it are those who pass by on their way to a nearby local park with hiking trails). But around here, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are lots of little spots where trees grow thickly and where fall colors continue right on into December.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Zion High Country, Evening

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Zion High Country, Evening
“Zion High Country, Evening” — Autumn evening in Zion National Park high country.

I made this photograph very close to the end of a lengthy photography trip to Southern Utah. After shooting on my own for days and then working collaboratively with friends and fellow photographers, I left the others behind and joined my family for a few days in Zion National Park.

We stayed outside of the park boundary, a short distance up a side road that leads way back into the park’s less-known high country. We decided to follow that road and see where it would take us. Eventually it arrived at a sort of plateau — high country ringed by red rock formations and cut through by deep valleys. I made this photograph close to sunset along that road.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak Among The Conifers

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Oak Among The Conifers
“Oak Among The Conifers” — A solitary autumn black oak tree at the edge of a grove of conifers.

Every so often I think about how photographers captured images of fall “color” in the era of black and white photography, and I have to try my hand at it once again. Obviously the usual approach — finding some brilliant color and then emphasizing it in the photograph — won’t work here. Instead, contrast with darker surroundings could be one way to evoke the brilliance of autumn foliage.

Although this small black oak appears alone in the photograph, it has other oak neighbors nearby. What sets it apart apart is that it grows against a backdrop of a very dark and thick conifer forest. I’ve watched this tree for years, and the contrast can be quite compelling in the fall.

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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.