Tag Archives: canyon

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

Trees on Sandstone Cliff

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Trees on Sandstone Cliff
A row of coniferous trees ascends a steep gully on a sandstone cliff face.

Trees on Sandstone Cliff. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of coniferous trees ascends a steep gully on a sandstone cliff face.

There is something compelling about individual or small groups of trees growing in unlikely places. It is hard to precisely describe why this is, but my friend Charles Cramer has referred to photographs of them as “brave little tree” images. (I don’t know if Charlie coined the term, but he’s the first person I heard use it.) Perhaps there is something metaphorical about these trees stand in such places, where they are tall and straight like these examples or twisted and stunted by their stark environment. Whatever the reason, I know I’m not the only person attracted to them.

This group of conifers grows high up on a sandstone cliff in Zion National Park, improbably forming a very tine forest in a very difficult place. Such trees, viewed up close, often seem to thrive on almost nothing at all, putting roots down in little more than cracks in the rock. This group rises from a cluster of smaller shrubs and trees to a few larger trees in the widest part of the ledge, and then the trees continue upwards, diminishing in size.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Brown Aspen Leaves

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Brown Aspen Leaves
Autumn aspen leaves have turned brown, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Brown Aspen Leaves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn aspen leaves have turned brown, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

During the past decade or so it has been, or so it often seems, a tough time for Sierra Nevada aspen trees. First we had a five-year drought that likely killed off quite a few of them. During some of those seasons the color transition was far from normal. While some trees managed to carry on more or less normally, others change colors weeks early, some turned brown or black, other simply dropped their green leaves. Wildfires, which have increased at an alarming rate in California, also burned through quite a few aspen groves. (That being said, aspens do show a remarkable ability to re-sprout from the roots of burned trees.)

For the most part this year’s color change was pretty decent, even though we are once again in serious drought conditions in California. But I did find a number of places where leaves had turned brown and then black instead of going through the more appealing yellow/orange/red transition. As I passed through one grove of smaller trees that I visit every year I saw quite a few brown and black leaves, but I decided that there was no good reason to overlook their potential as photographic subjects.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Trees on Red Rock Cliff

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Trees on Red Rock Cliff
A vertical forest of trees ascends the face of red rock cliffs, Zion National Park.

Trees on Red Rock Cliff. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A vertical forest of trees ascends the face of red rock cliffs, Zion National Park.

There are scenes like this one in may locations in the Southwest — and anywhere there are steep rock cliffs, for that matter. (I photograph similar subjects in the Sierra Nevada.) I found this little “forest” working its way up a crack system high on the walls of Zion Canyon. Here and in similar places, I’m always amazed by the minimal requirements for supporting such big trees. They often are growing in little more than cracks in the rock, and to some extent the trees seem to almost create their own meager soil as their leaves and needles fall and degrade.

Not only are the trees remarkable for growing in such a difficult situation, but they provide a fascinating color contrast with the red sandstone walls in the Southwest. In canyons like this one, I usually prefer to photograph them during main daylight hours, while the trees themselves are in shadow but partially illuminated by light reflected from other 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest

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Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest
A small autumn aspen tree in the light in front of dark forest.

Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small autumn aspen tree in the light in front of dark forest.

There is something about solitary trees standing against some sort of background. A friend has referred to them as “brave little tree” photographs — something I now think about every time I make one or see one. Landscape photography doesn’t always come quite this close to eliciting metaphorical associations, but I can certainly understand how one could make this association with these subjects. On a more prosaic note, from a purely compositional perspective, a single central subject posed against a larger and contrasting background often works visually, too.

This photograph was also an extra reminder to me about why I like to photograph non-iconic subjects. (Though I do have to admit that the solitary tree is a sort of generic icon, if that makes sense.) I rediscovered this photograph recently while reviewing some raw files from a couple of years ago. I usually record location information as I work on photographs, but with this one I could not even determine exactly where I made it! By sequencing the files before and after this exposure I was able to narrow it down to one very large drainage, but I don’t actually recall making the photograph! I I had worked with the file back when it was new, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with the result. When I came back to it I saw it in a somewhat different way, and I saw how to apply some newer post-processing tools to get the result I was after.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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.