Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

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

Sandstone and Trees

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Sandstone and Trees
“Sandstone and Trees” — Scattered trees find footholds in cracks in the weathering sandstone, Zion National Park.

Except for one element, you could find a similar scene in California’s Sierra Nevada. That one element? The intense coloration of the Utah sandstone red rock formations. The contrast between the green trees and the red sandstone is striking, as is the complexity of the geology —with strata and layers intersecting and exfoliation gradually removing the topmost layers.

I photographed this scene some years ago on a visit to Zion National park. These colors and textures provide a visual playground for photographers. And sometimes wildlife even joins in the fun — on one occasion I photographed big horn sheep on nearby slopes.

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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tule Fog Tree

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Tule Fog Tree
“Tule Fog Tree” — Branches of a tree are silhouetted against glowing Central Valley tule fog.

I have seen some very thick fog during my time photographing winter birds in California’s Central Valley, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it thicker than it was on this January morning. It was so thick that I pretty much had to give up on photographing birds — although I could hear them, I could not see them in in the pea soup fog!

The photograph gives a pretty good idea of the visibility. The details of the tree, only feet away from my camera position, are already largely muted and reduced to a silhouette. Beyond that the world simply… disappears. For those who may wonder, this is a color photograph! (Also, the word “tule” is pronounced TOO-lee, not like “tool.”)

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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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Gold, Black Mountains

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Desert Gold, Black Mountains
“Desert Gold, Black Mountains” — The Black Mountains rise above a gravel fan covered with desert gold flowers, Death Valley.

As one bit of evidence that it might not be exaggerating to call this year’s flowers a “super bloom” I offer this photograph of a dense field of desert gold flowers, backed by mountains that are also beginning to show signs of spring growth. To be sure, not every gravel fan and wash in the park had this many flowers — far from it. But in many places the amount of color has been exceptional.

This photograph looks south toward the north end of the park’s Black Mountains, the ridge that runs along the east side of the main valley. It is an impressively rugged range, and it can be challenging finding a way to photograph it from this angle — the distance produces a lot of atmospheric haze. But on this day the air was relatively clear, and the colorful flowers and side-lit mountains gave the scene more definition.

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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: 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.