Category Archives: Photographs: Utah

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

Leafless Plants, Sandstone

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Leafless Plants, Sandstone
A few nearly leafless plants grow in a sandstone canyon, Capitol Reef National Park

Leafless Plants, Sandstone. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A few nearly leafless plants grow in a sandstone canyon, Capitol Reef National Park

I made this photograph in a place that is not unknown to Capitol Reef National Park visitors, but which few visit. To get to this lovely little canyon requires a very long drive on a gravel road, and then at least a little bit of research or perhaps a conversation with the right park employee. I was with friends who knew about it, and I probably would not have found it without them.

There are beautiful red rock canyons all over southern Utah, and some are quite well-known — sometimes perhaps known a bit too well. Fortunately there are so many that by poking around in the right corners you can find plenty of lonely yet quite lovely little canyons like this one. We began with a hike across some flat country and then soon entered the mouth of the canyon, which almost immediately became somewhat narrow. It wasn’t a long hike as before long we reached a blockage that we could not really pass. But along the way the beautiful light reflected down from above, bouncing off the red canyon walls, and casting a warm glow down below. Here the scenery was almost entirely of the ubiquitous red rock, broken by a few small plants that were almost leafless by this time in autumn.

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

Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash

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Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash
A singleleaf ash tree stretches across red sandstone wall, Utah

Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. October 28, 2010. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A singleleaf ash tree stretches across red sandstone wall, Utah

I love the stunning sandstone landscapes of Southern Utah — a world of canyons intimate or huge, smooth red sandstone walls, the force of water, juniper trees, flatlands and mountains, and the thought-provoking presence of people who lived here before we came. When I return to my California landscapes from Utah they always seem a bit… gray. I made this photograph on a visit a bit more than four years ago, when I joined several photographer friends to explore places from Zion National Park to Capitol Reef National Park, spending time in some of the stunning national monument lands in between. I made this photograph in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a place that surely is deserving of national park status.

Back in 2012 during this visit, I thought about how my country had the foresight to protect such quintessential American landscapes and hold them in trust for all Americans today and long into the future. It did not even cross my mind that they might soon again be in danger. But they are, including this very place, now described by self-serving politicians intent on taking the land that we own and giving it away to private interests as being “places where no one goes” or places that are just empty desert. This is, of course, nonsense and only a liar or worse could make such a claim with a straight face. Once again, it appears that it will be time to have to try to re-save these places.

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

Fractured Sandstone Cliff

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Fractured Sandstone Cliff
A fractured sandstone cliff and fallen boulders

Fractured Sandstone Cliff. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fractured sandstone cliff and fallen boulders

A few years back a small group of us spent time photographing in southern Utah, from Capitol Reef National Park to the east to Zion National Park to the west and at points in between. The day when I made this photograph began very early in sub-freezing conditions, walking out on a route along a remote ridge. But we ended that day back in a more civilized location, at a canyon with tall sandstone walls, in places forming abrupt cliffs and in other areas being fractured and covered with some amount of vegetation.

We came to this section just after sunset, which comes a bit early in this spot since the terrain to the west of the part tilts gradually upwards. The spot where we photographed is along a gravel road, and on both sides it is lined with monumental sandstone cliffs that are fundamentally smooth and blocky. However, even such cliffs erode, and here the process is laid bare. Huge vertical slabs are separating from the walls and leaning away, and the bases of the cliffs are filled with broken material topped with giant boulders.

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

Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs

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Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs
Massive sandstone cliffs tower above a single juniper tree among boulders

Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Massive sandstone cliffs tower above a single juniper tree among boulders

In the early evening, after a full day of photography that had begun in sub-freezing temperatures atop a remote ridge in Capitol Reef National Park, we found ourselves back in the more civilized regions, in a canyon served by a well-used road where a parking lot marked the jumping off point for trails that extended beyond the road end. We photographed here for a while, and as the canyon light faded we wandered back to our vehicle and loaded up to depart.

As we exited the mouth of the canyon and the terrain opened up, soft and subtle evening light glowed on the massive cliffs above. We had thought we were finished for the day, but we quickly reconsidered, pulling over and jumping out to retrieve cameras and tripods and find places from which to photograph in the diminishing light. I was intrigued by these huge, reddish blocks of sandstone standing against the base of a cliff of lighter rock, with a single juniper tree growing amongst the boulders.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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