Tag Archives: cliff

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Headlands, Fog

Image Leave a comment
Headlands, Fog
Big Sur headlands, fog, and bright sunshine.

Headlands, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Big Sur headlands, fog, and bright sunshine.

Autumn is my favorite season. It isn’t just about the colorful annual displays of fall leaf color, though that is quite compelling. It is just that, oil general, almost everything is in transition. The element of change itself is exciting, but so is the trajectory of the changes — new colors, cooler weather, rain and snow begin to arrive, fascinating skies, different light, and more. Along the nearby California coast all sorts of things draw me — the intense light, glowing fog, big surf, the newly green hills of California’s wet season.

This past week I made my first autumn pilgrimage to the Big Sur region, leaving home well before sunrise so that I could be there for the early morning light and before the fog cleared. I had not checked the weather carefully, so I was surprised by some impressively large surf, and the combination of ocean spray and coastal fog created some beautiful and moody scenes. I went about as far south as this location, where I have photographed many times in the past, and found a scene full of brilliantly glowing atmosphere, with fog muting the details of the landscape as it faded into the distance.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Tree and Shadow’s Edge

Image 2 Comments
Tree and Shadow's Edge
A border between light and shadow moves across a tree at the base of a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Tree and Shadow’s Edge. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A border between light and shadow moves across a tree at the base of a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Sometimes (oh, heck, often) photographs come about in somewhat unsuspected ways, and this is such a photograph. In October we were in Southern Utah and we had previously spent a day photographing in Zion Canyon. The general plan on this day was to photograph along Mt. Carmel Highway in the morning (which we did), grab some coffee and food beyond the park, and then, well, we weren’t quite sure. The day evolved organically and we ended up on some interesting Utah backroads crossing some surprisingly snowy highland before we eventually ended up in Cedar City. We gassed up the vehicle and realized that we had time for a quick side trip into Kolob Canyon on our way back toward our eventual destination.

I’ve been in the less-visited and less-developed section of Zion National Park several times. In addition to being a jumping off point for lots of interesting trails, it presents some landscapes opportunities that are quite different from those of the more familiar Zion Canyon. I’ve usually been there earlier in the day, so it was fascinating to observe the place in late-day light. Much of this landscape is huge, even “epic” in scale, but as I scanned it I started to see smaller vignettes that seemed interesting. In particular, I noticed that this shadow was moving from left to right and gradually lighting the prominent tree in the center of the scene, casting its shadow on the brightly-lit sandstone behind it.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Red Rock Outcropping

Image Leave a comment
Red Rock Outcropping
A variety of plantlife growing on a red rock outcropping, Zion National Park.

Red Rock Outcropping. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A variety of plantlife growing on a red rock outcropping, Zion National Park.

Utah red rock country is full of little vignettes like this one, no matter where you are. the photograph comes from Zion National Park, but it could have been made in any number of other locations where the sandstone formations appear. This California photographer, used to the relatively gray tones of Sierra granite, cannot get enough of the wild colors of this state.

I made this photograph on a morning when we drove across Zion National Park highlands on the Mt. Carmel Highway. Changes along this route, which can only assume the park service regards as improvements, have made photography considerably more difficult here. Many places where I used to be able to pull over and photograph are now off limits. That problem aside, we still did find places to stop and photograph in the brilliant morning sun, a very different experience than photographing in Zion Canyon or other deep and shaded 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, 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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

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

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon

Image 4 Comments
Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon
An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

There are at least two stories behind this photograph — maybe more. The first one involves a situation familiar to many photographers. When we go into these places carrying a backpack of gear, with a big camera on a tripod hanging over our shoulder, we aren’t exactly in stealth mode. And because lots of people in such places are trying to figure out how to make photographs to record their wonder… sometimes our presence draws them in our direction. I had wandered over to the bank of the Virgin River to photograph something and, sure enough, lots of other folks started showing up in what had been a pretty empty spot. I finished photographing there and headed back toward where I came from, looked back, and saw this big old tree towering above and decided it was worth a photograph. But now there were a few dozen people among those trees!

I made a mental note to remember the tree and come back to it later on as I continued up the canyon. When I did return the crowd had departed and I was able to get the scene I wanted. I’m generally not big on shooting with wide angle lenses, often preferring to limit the composition by using longer lenses and their narrower angle-of-view. But in the confines of a red rock canyon, a large tree like this cottonwood often towers above you, even if you have some space to move back. These big, old cottonwood trees fascinate me, and their varieties of form and setting seem almost infinite.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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