Tag Archives: cliff

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

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Shoreline Bluffs, Forest
Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 18, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

For the second time in less than a week I made it back to Point Lobos State Reserve again. After several days of very hot inland temperatures here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Point Lobos was attractive destination not only for its photogenic scenery but also for the promise of cool morning maritime fog. We encountered the fog well before we arrived, but perhaps an hour later it began to clear from the immediate coast, and I had perhaps a half hour of beautiful mixed light along the boundary between sun and fog.

I made this photograph at a location I know very well along the north shore trail at Point Lobos. When I was there late last week I photographed while it was still foggy and the soft light filled in the shadows. Today the filtered sunlight created more dramatic shadows, but a bit of lingering fog muted the intensity of the light and colors in the forest on the bluff above the rocky cliffs.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper and Striped Sandstone

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Juniper and Striped Sandstone
A vertically striped sandstone cliff behind a juniper tree

Juniper and Striped Sandstone. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 21, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A vertically striped sandstone cliff behind a juniper tree

My recollection is that we had driven into this deep canyon at Capitol Reef late in the day, and that we stopped to photograph as we began to head back out of the canyon not long before sunset. Because of the late hour, although it was still daytime, the light was blocked here by the very tall walls of this narrow canyon.

We stopped here largely because of the remarkable vertical stains on the smooth sandstone walls. In many places this layer of sandstone is almost monolithic, but here the staining produced sharp vertical lines and broke up the otherwise solid features of the rock. Near the base of the cliff a few boulders stood, and on the higher areas right next to the cliff a few trees managed to grow.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Juniper and Sandstone Cliff

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Juniper and Sandstone Cliff
Tall sandstone cliffs dwarf Juniper trees growing among talus boulders.

Juniper and Sandstone Cliff. Capitan Reef National Park, Utah. October 20, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tall sandstone cliffs dwarf Juniper trees growing among talus boulders.

Back in the fall of 2014 I was fortunate enough to be able to work with a great deal of autonomy for a period of about six months. This allowed me to be on the road in the landscapes of southwestern Utah for three weeks. With a long unbroken period of work in the field I was able to spend time in many of my favorite places — Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (now under threat from the current administration), Capitol Reef National Park, the Dixie National Forest, and Zion National Park. At times I worked individually, on several occasions I joined up with other photographers, and at the end I met family members at Zion.

I joined my friend and fellow photographer David Hoffman for a few days in Capitol Reef. The Fruita area was our home base, but we explored further south along both sides of this park. On this evening after setting up camp we simply went a short distance down the road along the great sandstone walls along the west side of the park and photographed the golden hour light and on into dusk. This scene is at the base of one of these monumental sandstone cliffs, where large boulders that have broken off the face are piled against it at the bottom and a few hardy trees and bushes have taken root.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge

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Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge
A band of resilient trees growing on a snow-covered ledge at the base of a granite monolith

Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge. Yosemite National Park, California. February 25, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A band of resilient trees growing on a snow-covered ledge at the base of a granite monolith

By the time this photograph appears at my website and on social media, the snow at the base of this famous monolith should be long gone — having melted, flowed down in rivulets to join the rushing Merced River, crossed into California’s Central Valley, perhaps reached the San Francisco Bay, and even made it out into the Pacific Ocean.

These trees, growing on a narrow ledge at the base of one of Yosemite’s most famous and visible granite faces, always draw my attention. Their location is impressive, but so is the fact that they have managed to grow relatively straight and tall while located in a world of rock, most of which came from (and continues to come from!) weathering of the giant monolith above. Winter snows highlight their dark forms more clearly.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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