Category Archives: Photographs: The Southwest

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

Three Sisters, Sheep Rock

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Three Sisters, Sheep Rock
The Three Sisters, Sheep Rock, and other red rock formations, Arches National Park.

Three Sisters, Sheep Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Three Sisters, Sheep Rock, and other red rock formations, Arches National Park.

There are so many things bound up in photographs like this one that it would be possible to write a book about it. This was my first visit to this landscape and, as such, it was part of the rare experience of being in a place that I did not know at all. It also raises questions about the value of photographing icons — hint: there is some, but it is complicated. It is a photograph I made some years ago, bringing up the value of revisiting photographs that were originally left behind or perhaps interpreted differently. It brings up the questions about what landscape photographers do when the landscape is inaccessible.

I made the photograph during perhaps my first hour or two in Arches National Park. For someone who read Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” decades ago, this visit was a long time coming. And, aside from that book, I came with few preconceptions about the park, and I had not researched before arriving. Consequently, as we drove in late the first afternoon I had almost no idea of what I would see. I was amazed.

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

Snag, Red Rock

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Snag, Red Rock
An old snag stands in front of a freactured red rock cliff.

Snag, Red Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old snag stands in front of a fractured red rock cliff.

Let me repeat a slightly embarrassing story that I’ve told before. For many years I did not bother to photograph in the Southwest. There are several facets to the explanation. I was something of a Sierra “bigot” — I loved that landscape so much that I could hardly understand why I would want to look elsewhere. In addition, when I was very young and my family drove between our California home and the Midwestern states where my relatives lived, I thought that our route through Utah was boring.

So it was only in the last decade or so that I finally “discovered” Utah’s beautiful red rock landscapes. My first visit was on a spring trip that took us to Zion, then across the state through Bryce and Capitol Reef (perhaps the most under-appreciated of these parks) and then to Moab where we visited Arches and Canyonlands. Since that time I have returned at other times of the year and pushed my explorations out beyond the boundaries of the parks, but this photograph comes from that first visit.

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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Sculpted Sandstone

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Sculpted Sandstone
Sky light reflected on sculpted and curving sandstone in a Utah slot canyon

Sculpted Sandstone. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sky light reflected on sculpted and curving sandstone in a Utah slot canyon

We have to change the way we think about the daily progression of light when photographing in slot canyons. I first learned this when photographing in the red sandstone country of Utah, but it is just as true in the relatively less colorful canyons of Death Valley or even in some places in the plain gray granite landscape of the Sierra Nevada. In most cases we are drawn to the warm, early morning light, with its long shadows and lovely color. But in the canyons that light can be far less compelling, and it may even just end up seeming drab. Once you reset your expectations you find that the best canyon light often comes in the middle of the day, when the sun rises high enough to directly illuminate the red canyon rims, and then this light bounces and reflects downward into the canyon depths.

I made this photograph in a spot in a Utah canyon that was perhaps an even better than usual location for reflected canyon light. The rock was red standstone. Late-morning sunlight lit the upper rim, and that light suffused the lower reaches of the canyon. But here the narrow section of slot canyon wasn’t very long, and some bluish light from the sky reflected on angled rock surfaces, introducing a striking color contrast to 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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Slot Canyon

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Slot Canyon
The narrow confines of a Utah slot canyon

Slot Canyon. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The narrow confines of a Utah slot canyon.

Utah’s red rock and canyon country is not my native landscape, though I could see how it could be in another life. I somehow managed to live through decades of my life mostly unaware of its magic. (I have explained previously that this may be partially the result of long childhood road trips from California to the Midwest — they nearly always passed through far less scenic parts of Utah.) I had seen photographs, and eventually I started listening more carefully to the stories my friends told. Finally, less than a decade ago, I made my first visit, a long trip on which we visited Cedar Breaks, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Arches. I was completely taken by this landscape and spent many weeks there over the next few years. (I haven’t been back recently, in protest against the state’s promotion of and surrender to the administration’s attack on our American public lands in the state.)

This photograph came from one of those later visits. This time, about four years ago, I had several weeks of time to travel around the state and explore. Part of that exploration was done entirely alone, but later I joined up with some other photographer friends… and I concluded the trip by meeting up with family at Zion. The photograph comes from that early, solo portion. I had heard the names of some places that weren’t far from where I was staying, so I decided to investigate. I frequently — and intentionally — don’t over-research locations, since I prefer to discover them on my own. So I figured out the minimal information about which gravel road to take, and I drove there and headed out. Before long I came to a turn-out at a spot that provided access to a beautiful wash, so I stopped and started hiking. Soon the canyon narrowed and before long I was in this beautiful slot canyon, still wet from recent rain. This spot was special — a place where the transition from open wash to narrow slot canyon was very apparent.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.