Category Archives: Photographs: Utah

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

Light on Red Rock

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Light on Red Rock
Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

Light on Red Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

As I have waded through my 2012 archive of raw images from Utah, made during two autumn trips to the southern part of the state that lasted nearly a full month in total, I am again reminded to the incredibly diverse ways in which the ubiquitous sandstone can be seen. Sometimes, in stark light, the colors are not that striking. In the depths of canyons they can be unbelievably intense. In dawn and sunset light they can become so saturated as to be nearly unbelievable. In shade they can be tinged with blue. And on it goes…

I made this photograph in “normal” daytime light, in a place where the sun beats down without obstruction. I don’t recall for sure now, but judging by the reasonable light levels of the highlights, it may have been a bit overcast. In this location the rock tends to organize into “fins” and fin-like formations, with long walls that are tall and parallel to one another. The nearly overhead light created shadows on the side of the rocks facing me, but each face was also subtly lit by reflections.

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

Dormant Plant, Fractured Rock

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Dormant Plant, Fractured Rock
A nearly dormant plant grows on a fractured boulder against a cliff wall in a Utah slot canyon.

Dormant Plant, Fractured Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A nearly dormant plant grows on a fractured boulder against a cliff wall in a Utah slot canyon.

To my way of thinking, slot canyons bring several primary associations. The narrow, twisting vertical walls are near the top of the list. The unusual surfaces of the wash floor are another: sand, mud, rocks. Above all (literally and figuratively) is the light entering far above and then bouncing back and forth among the canyon walls as it descends, picking up the colors of the rock and becoming softer and softer.

There are other associations, too, and although they might not be quite so immediately apparent, once you see them they are everywhere. Almost everything here is, of course, affected by water. The canyons were cut by it and the process continues. When the water periodically moves cataclysmically, rocks and boulders are redistributed downstream and mixed together with material from many different sources. As the water continues to eat into rock it undermines the higher structures, and gravity brings down rock from younger state. All the while the moving water grinds away and polishes the lower reaches of the canyon.

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

Open Book

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Open Book
A sandstone cliff meets the bottom of a Utah red rock country wash.

Open Book. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sandstone cliff meets the bottom of a Utah red rock country wash.

My virtual journey back through Utah continues. Since opportunities to go into the field are limited right now I am instead digging back though tens of thousands of raw files in my archives. I have always recognized that I leave some photographs behind as I move on to the next thing — and sometimes I’m not just not yet ready to “see” how a photograph will work. For years I’ve made these return visits to the old files, most often with an end-of-the-year traverse of that year’s images before moving on. This time I’m starting back in 2012 and working my way forward slowly.

I made this photograph in the first slot canyon that I ever visited. You might wonder how I managed to get to 2012 without visiting this kind of terrain. It is a long story, but for some reasons I’ve explained elsewhere I simply didn’t get to Utah and the Southwest until about a decade ago. Shame on me! As we walked into this canyon I really had little idea of what to expect, but I was entranced. This bit of sandstone cliff wall sat immediately next to the sandy bottom of the wash, and the color of the diffused light warmed as it bounced down from above between the canyon walls.

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.

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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

Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon

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Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon
A beam of sunlight on trees and red rock in the canyon of the Escalante River.

Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A beam of sunlight on trees and red rock in the canyon of the Escalante River.

On this trip eastward across Southern Utah we came across this lovely section of the Escalante River at just about the perfect moment. We had just made our obligatory stop at the Kiva Koffeehouse — perhaps the most improbably-located such place I’ve ever visited — and were back on the road, making the short descent to the crossing of this river before the road rises to along Calf Creek to pass along Hell’s Backbone. It was October, and the trees along the valley were just turning autumn colors, and clouds were sending beams of light across the landscape.

I’ve visited and photographed along the Escalante several times, generally walking down into the canyon and wandering slowly, my preferred mode. Yet driving though this section always seems magical, too, and every time I cross the river here I think of those other places I’ve visited along its route. Heck, I’m thinking of them again as I write this!

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.

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