Tag Archives: cliff

Three Trees And A Valley

Three Trees And A Valley
“Three Trees And A Valley” — Three autumn trees and Yosemite Valley cliffs.

This photograph has been in the queue for months as I worked on other subjects, and before that it languished in my raw file archive for a couple of years. I rediscovered it during a review of past season’s fall color photographs last year. There is a bit of fall color in the leaves of these trees, but it may be subtle.

After photographing in Yosemite Valley for decades, I am less inclined to re-photograph the big icons. I’ll do so in exceptional conditions, but I’m more interested in poking around odd corners of the valley and looking for new perspectives. This location is a bit tricky — several years ago it was identified as being an area prone to rockfall — but I’m attracted to several features of this view. The foreground trees don’t quite block the view, and beyond them a large meadow allows plentiful light. Across the valley are steep cliffs, in including some with cascades and small waterfalls.


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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Trees On Sandstone Cliff

Trees on Sandstone Cliff
”Trees on Sandstone Cliff ” — Two small trees grow from cracks in a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Today I am sharing yet another “lost and found” photograph, again from a decade-ago visit to Utah and, in this case, Zion National Park. (“Lost and found” photographs disappeared into my raw file archives, only to be rediscovered years later.) This one features a bit of vegetation, including some with developing fall color, growing in the cracks of a sandstone cliff.

I am impressed by how little some trees need to make a success of it. In the Sierra Nevada I have seen beautiful little trees growing on little more than a shallow bowl in the granite holding a few hands full of soil. Here the trees are growing in cracks in the solid sandstone, and must have little or no actual soil to nourish them.


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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Below the Cliff

Below the Cliff
“Below the Cliff” — Trees at the base of a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

this photograph comes from a trip to Utah and Zion National Park over a dozen years ago. It is also another of my “lost and found” photographs — from a file that has languished in my raw file archives since that time. I think I may have left it behind after working up a different photograph of the same cliff.

This is a classic Utah red rock canyon scene, with bright green trees (just barely starting to take on autumn colors) at the base of red rock cliffs. I love how the red and green stand out against one another. As I’ve said before, this Sierra Nevada guy, after a visit to Utah, always feels like the gray rock of his “home range” looks a bit… bland.


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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Window Formation, Desert Mountains

Window Formation, Desert Mountains
“Window Formation, Desert Mountains” — Desert mountains beyond a teardrop-shaped window in a rock wall, Death Valley.

Death Valley National Park is full of popular and famous attractions that are quite accessible — Mesquite Dunes, Badwater, Zabriskie Point, to name a few. But there’s far more to this immense park than the popular spots. There are equally worthy things to see everywhere, including in some rather remote locations. This is one of those sights, and the odds are that you would be alone here if you were to visit.

The feature is an impressive tear-drop shaped “window” in a wall of rock that stands on the inside of a sharp bend in the canyon. Beyond, further canyon walls rise above the wash, and in the far distance we see the highest peaks of the Panamint Range, including 11,000’+ Telescope Peak.


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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.