Tag Archives: cliff

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

Sandstone Columns

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Sandstone Columns
Columns on eroded sandstone, Zion National Park.

Sandstone Columns. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Columns on eroded sandstone, Zion National Park.

While the entirely of the Utah landscape (and similar landscapes in the American Southwest) is compelling, for me the main defining feature always seems to be the red sandstone formations. Yes, I know there are other geological wonders, but in so many cases I see those relative to the massive layers of sandstone. Those lovely white strata? Much more powerful juxtaposed with the red sandstone? The beautiful forests? That red is a powerful complement to their color. And on it goes.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that my photographs of the regions from time to time distill down to photographs of that rock itself. It is a remarkable material. Sometimes it is fractured and broken, but it can also appear to be as smooth and unbroken as butter. We say it is “red,” but the truth is much more complicated, and the light affects our perception of its color a great deal. I photographed this small section of a Zion Canyon wall from below using a long focal length that allowed me to constrain the view to a few columns in the diffused and reflected light.

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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Streamside Trees, Red Rock Cliff

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Streamside Trees, Red Rock Cliff
Narrowleaf cottonwood trees with a few autumn leaves beneath sandstone cliff along the Virgin River, Zion National Park.

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

Narrowleaf cottonwood trees with a few autumn leaves beneath sandstone cliff along the Virgin River, Zion National Park.

The trees along the Virgin River in Zion National Park are a big attraction for me, especially as the autumn color transition begins. There is quite a variety of these trees, ranging from conifers to deciduous trees, from small to large, in locations ranging from open flats to ledges far up on the red rock cliffs and on the more open highlands far above. Landscape photographer friends like to joke that we just make pictures of “rocks, water, and trees” — and all of those play a big part in this landscape.

This little mini-grove lies a bit off to the side from a popular and busy Zion Canyon trail. Working in such a canyon, with its shade and diffused, soft light, is very appealing to me, and the contrasts between green foliage and red rock make it even better. These trees grow in one of the many bends in the canyon as it winds back and forth, and the sandstone cliffs form a sort of wide alcove here. The Virgin River — at a fairly low rate of flow — runs past in the foreground.

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

Fog, Surf, and Rocks Near Rocky Creek

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Fog, Surf, and Rocks Near Rocky Creek
Morning light on fog and mist over the Big Sur coast near Rocky Creek.

Fog, Surf, and Rocks Near Rocky Creek. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on fog and mist over the Big Sur coast near Rocky Creek.

This post begins with a confession. I have probably photographed this particular scene too many times. I first photographed it quite a few years ago, on a morning when I happened to stop along the Big Sur coastline and notice this particular juxtaposition of features. On that first visit I came up with images that I still regard as quite good, perhaps even among my best from this area. At that point I figured that I was more or less done with the subject, though I continued to pause there and look. Which of course meant that eventually a day came when something new and different appeared there… and I made different sort of photograph of the location that also seems pretty good.

At about this point I started to consider the dangers of going back and re-photographing the same familiar subject. (Among other things, it can distract a photographer from finding new subjects since re-shooting the familiar thing can be easier.) I continued to stop and occasionally make a casual photograph, but mostly did nothing with those images, preferring to work on new subjects in the area. But when I visited on this early November morning the scene seemed particularly spectacular, with a combination of high surf, thin fog, and intense backlight… and I could not resist. So, here it is… yet another take on this scene.

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Entering the Narrows

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Entering the Narrows
Light reflected in the water of the Virgin River as it emerges from a narrow section of the canyon.

Entering the Narrows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light reflected in the water of the Virgin River as it emerges from a narrow section of the canyon.

We visited this popular area of Zion Canyon twice on this particular day. The first was very early in the morning after we caught almost the first shuttle bus into the valley and arrived during blue hour light. We walked slowly up to just about to the actual beginning of the narrows and back again, taking lots of photographic detours along the way. This trail is a bit of an odd one on which to photograph. Early in the morning there is a nearly unbroken procession of people heading to the narrows. But step off the trail a bit and you can be almost entirely alone. As we walked, I made mental notes about spots that might be interesting to photograph much later in the day.

Indeed, we went back late in the day, knowing that the sun would now come from the opposite direction, light the upper canyon walls, and reflect warm-colored and soft light down into the bottom of the canyon. We were not disappointed. The effect of that reddish reflected light shining softly on sandstone walls is spectacular in a quiet sort of way, and there was a lot of photography to be done! This photograph looks up the canyon toward one of the sunlit walls, and the reflection colors the surface of the Virgin River as it passes between the trees.

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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