Tag Archives: autumn

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

Hanging Branch with Yellow Leaves, Sandstone Wall

December 9, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A branch covered in yellow autumn leaves hands over a dark sandstone wall, Zion National Park

This is another photograph made in a short slot canyon in the high country of Zion National Park. At this point, it may be clear that I have a bit of an obsession with plants in front of rock of various sorts, and I was intrigued by this bundle of branches covered with yellow fall leaves that was dangling down onto the rocky wall of sculpted sandstone in this canyon and the way that the branch shapes were juxtaposed with the horizontal patterns in the rock and the diagonal fracture dropping from left to right.

It is easy and so tempting to focus on the beautiful red-toned rock, but there are many other colors to see as well. They range from the nearly white sandstone found in some layers, through intense yellows, and all the way to nearly black, especially where lichen or moss grows on the rock. The surface of the rock in this scene is very complex. Not only is the underlying striation visible, but various sorts of lichen have added color and texture – including the lighter blotches near the bottom of the frame and the slightly more subtle red spots lining portions of the fracture.

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Color, Escalante River

December 6, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cottonwood tree fall color below sandstone cliffs along the Escalante River, Utah

This is another photograph made on our second attempt to photograph this area during the last half of October, 2012. The first time had been a day that was a beautiful one in many ways, but a photographically problematic one in others – with cold, very strong winds, clouds, and even a bit of rain. So nearly a week later we found ourselves back in the same general area and we decided to give it another try. This turned out to be a good decision, as all of those factors that had impeded photography the first time were now gone, and we had beautiful light, good fall colors, almost no wind.

There are many things that appeal to me about photographing in this kind of country. The rock itself is high on the list, for its range of intense colors along with the fact that it is the source of the many beautiful and compelling canyons that are found here. The fall foliage is another factor. After my Sierra Nevada colors have mostly gone (at least on the east side where the aspens grow) the low elevation colors of oak, maple, box elder, and cottonwood reach their peak. Other plants produce their own unique and sometimes subtle effects – such as the widely varied coloration of the tamarisk plants, which can include everything from black and gray through blue to yellow, red, and even purple. But above all is the quality of the light in these places, especially when it bounces down from high rock faces to light the depths of narrow canyons, taking on the coloration of the higher rocks, softening the lighting below, and often producing a glowing effect that must be seen to be believed. The light in this photograph is such light, reflected from a very large and sun-lit face to the left of my camera position.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Wildlife

Trumpeter Swans, Field

December 5, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small group of trumpeter swans on a misty day in a Skagit Valley field, Washington

Finding myself in a wonderful place to photograph birds, but without the (rather long!) lens I would usually rely on, I had to think differently about how to photograph the migratory birds of Skagit Valley, Washington earlier this week. I was in Washington for something else entirely, but had brought along a minimal kit “just in case…” but wasn’t really thinking that bird photography might be on the agenda until plans changed and I found myself with nearly a full day free. So despite having nothing longer than 200mm, I decided to drive up there from Seattle and see what I could find.

Among the locals, I hear that the area is especially renowned for eagles – which I saw and (barely) photographed a year ago. But I’m also, and perhaps predominantly, fascinated by the snow geese and the trumpeter swans. The geese remind me of the very similar Ross’s geese that I photograph in California, but the trumpeter swans are birds that I don’t really get to see at home. While the geese collect in huge flocks of many thousands of birds, creating an audio uproar that must be heard to be believed, the swans don’t seem to be such social creatures nor nearly as noisy. When I’ve seen them, they collect in small groups, sometimes very small or perhaps including a few dozen individuals. They seem to assemble quietly – apart from the occasional “trumpeting” – and don’t do anything like the swirling, flocking behavior of the geese. Instead, even so often a couple of them will lift off – taking a long, shallow trajectory like an overloaded airliner lifting off – and then fly at low levels across fields.

Having only my “short” 200mm telephoto, it proved nearly impossible to photograph them in the usual bird photography style – trying to come as close as possible to filling the frame with a bird or two. Instead, I started by thinking about how I could incorporate the birds into the landscape. Here, near the end of an empty road, I turned onto an even emptier road and slowly drove up to where I was reasonably close to this group. I remained in the car, using it as my “blind” so as not to disturb the birds, and I sat quietly making a few photographs as they fed in the field. I decided to go with an interpretation of the subject that did not attempt for anything like objective realism, instead trying to evoke the subjective aspects of these birds, caught in a momentary beam of sunlight against a misty and rainy sky and hills.

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

Base of the Organ, Morning

December 3, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn foliage begins to change along the base of the Organ and on the slopes of the Great White Throne, Zion Canyon

During three visits to Zion National Park and Zion Canyon during the past year, the area around “Big Bend” in the canyon has become a bit of a fixation for me. There is a lot to see and photograph here, and the lighting changes a lot during the course of the day. The bend in the canyon creates a sort of closed-in effect, and it is possible to focus both on the very small features and on the very large, including the canyon walls and more distant examples of vegetation climbing up the cliff walls.

Two major features make an appearance in this photograph. The near, darker columns are the base of a feature called “The Organ” that sits near the apex of the horseshoe bend that the canyon makes here as the Virgin River goes downstream. Beyond that are the huge walls of “The Great White Throne,” a towering feature in this portion of the canyon whose color is lighter than that of some of the other reddish rock cliffs nearby. I made this photograph fairly early in the morning before any direct sunlight had begun to affect the scene and when a certain amount of haze was still in the air. The foliage at the base of The Organ is just beginning to show the tiniest bit of autumn color, but higher on the cliffs of The Great White Throne there are trees that are well along on this transition.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: autumn

Hanging Branch with Yellow Leaves, Sandstone Wall

Autumn Color, Escalante River

Base of the Organ, Morning

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.