Tag Archives: cliff

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sunset Tree, Granite Cliff

Leave a comment
Sunset Tree, Granite Cliff
A solitary tree caught in a beam of sunset light beneath El Capitan

Sunset Tree, Granite Cliff. Yosemite Valley, California. February 25. 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary tree caught in a beam of sunset light beneath El Capitan

As a friend recently wrote, lots of photography stories begin with a recounting of how bad the light was and end with an unexpected miracle of light. I’m not sure that this event qualifies as a miracle, but it certainly was unexpected. After a day of photographing in Yosemite Valley I was more or less ready to take a break and clouds were closing in, so I decided I might as well head to Tunnel View and just take a look. I had no plan to photograph. I arrived and parked, got out of my vehicle, and walked to the overlook unburdened by any photographic equipment at all. Clouds were thickening above the Valley and it looked like a predicted weather front was probably approaching from the west, meaning that more clouds would be blocking the light from the west. I decided to go back to my car to get my smart phone so that I could walk back and make a “Hi, I’m here!” photo to send to my family.

As I returned, I saw a beam of light start to illuminate the opposite valley wall to the west-northwest, and I quickly figured out that it was gradually angling toward the base of El Capitan. There are no guarantees of how such an event will unfold, but it is better to be prepared and end up disappointed than to not be ready and miss photographing something glorious. So I dashed back to the car again, grabbed camera gear, rushed back, and set up. By now the narrow beam of light was traversing the valley wall almost all the way to the base of El Capitan, and for a brief moment it caught this solitary tree in its spotlight as another band of golden hour light washed across the upper face and lit the edge of the monolith.

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.

Photographs: Abstract, Photographs: Imaginary Landscapes, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cliff Detail

Leave a comment
Cliff Detail
A section of a Yosemite Valley cliff

Cliff Detail. Yosemite National Park, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A section of a Yosemite Valley cliff

I was in Yosemite Valley for the weekend, initially for the opening reception for the Yosemite Renaissance 32 exhibit in the Yosemite Museum Gallery next to the Visitor Center. Friday was all about the exhibit — the wonderful reception and then afterwards with my many friends among the artists in the show and others artists who have a connection to the event. This was also the seasonal peak of the annual Horsetail Fall excitement, a phenomenon that brings hordes of people to a couple of small areas… but consequently brings a degree of solitude and quiet to many other parts of the Valley.

In any case, my visit was also an excuse for photography. On my last morning there I was up an out in the 17 degree chill before sunrise. I headed to a nearby clear area from which I had an unobstructed view of some of the mighty cliffs. As I photographed I alternated between subjects that were typical landscape material — trees on ledges, morning light slanting across granite, snow and ice — and more abstract images focusing a sort of disembodied landscape and isolation striking bits of pattern and color high on the cliff 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 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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Utah

Boulders and Fractured Cliff

Leave a comment
Boulders and Fractured Cliff
Huge boulders lie at the base of a fractured sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

Boulders and Fractured Cliff. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Huge boulders lie at the base of a fractured sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

The rugged sandstone landscape of Utah is among my very favorite, rivaling “my” Sierra Nevada. It certainly exceeds the Sierra when it comes to color, especially in autumn when the yellows and reds of fall colors are set off against the infinite variety of sandstone colors and textures and that beautiful blue sky. The iconic locations are well known — Zion, Bryce, Arches — but off the beaten track there are infinite other beauties to find in places like Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a place that would certainly be one of our greatest national parks by now if not for politics. This photograph comes from Capitol Reef, a park that I’ve been getting to know for the past few years.

I’ve spent a lot of time there, and recently I’ve been looking forward to returning. However, now that I see the Utah politicians mounting a very serious special-interest attack on these great American lands, ranging from new monuments to some of the venerable places, I’m not going to give that state one bit of my business. Several major outdoor equipment manufacturers (Patagonia and Arcteryx as of this writing, with more to come) have dropped out of Utah’s major annual outdoor industry meet-up, and I think that a fine way to remind those Utah politicians that these lands matter — to all of us, but also to their constituents whose gas and food we buy and in whose motels we stay — is to take a No Utah vow until this changes. Perhaps I can get my sandstone fix in New Mexico? ;-)

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.

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

Fractured Cliff, Evening

Leave a comment
Fractured Cliff, Evening
A fractured sandstone cliff in evening light, Capitol Reef National Park

Fractured Cliff, Evening. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fractured sandstone cliff in evening light, Capitol Reef National Park

Late in the day we ended up in a canyon not far from the main centers of Capitol Reef National Park, including the main campground. We drove into this canyon after the sun had dropped low enough to leave only the soft, shadow light. We walked a ways up the canyon, moving very slowly and photographing along the way. Given the late hour and the early loss of light in the deep canyon, it wasn’t long before we decided to head back to the trailhead and call it a day.

We packed up and started to head out of the canyon. Soon the canyon widened near its mouth and it opened to the west. While the light had mostly left deep in the canyon where we had been earlier, here there was still a bit of a glow on the tall sandstone faces lining the mouth. Below these cliffs the terrains sloped upwards from the valley floor, and debris from the cliffs collected around their bases. Seeing this light, we immediately decided to pull over and unpack everything and make some photographs before the light faded. This photographs shows a wonderful section of the cliff face where outer layers of the rock have apparently fallen in geologically recent time, revealing the beautiful pink rock beneath.

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.