Tag Archives: cliff

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

Sandstone, Light and Shadow

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Sandstone, Light and Shadow
“Sandstone, Light and Shadow” — Early morning sunlight accentates the color of a Utah sandstone cliff.

The idea here was to get “up close and personal” with a small section of a monumental sandstone tower standing in the early morning sunlight. To make the photograph I turned away from the conventional scenic landscape I had been focusing on, using a long lens to focus on an area where features projecting from the wall were casting shadows back onto it.

Southwest sandstone is often impressive simply because of its color variation. I’ve commented before on how “my” California granite inevitably looks very… gray after I return from a visit to Utah. But in some places, such as here at Arches National Park, it isn’t just that the sandstone’s coloration is attractive, it is also that the strata of red rock are so thick and extensive.

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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.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

The Shadow’s Edge

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The Shadow's Edge
“The Shadow’s Edge” — The shadow from Yosemite Valley cliffs moves across autumn oak trees.

I photograph in this meadow during nearly every visit to Yosemite Valley. The big oak trees are the stars for the most part — though it is hard to ignore the impressive mass of El Capitan rising behind you. The autumn foliage on these trees turns golden-brown before falling, and it can glow luminously when backlit.

The light is key to photographing here. Because this part of the valley is narrow and because tall cliffs rise on either side, the amount of direct sunlight is limited. Shadows traverse this meadow in the morning and the afternoon, and there’s interesting lighting along the margins of the shadows. Here you can see the line of shadow along the right side of the frame. Moments after I made the photograph the shadows fully enveloped these trees.

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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.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Trees, Yosemite Valley

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Autumn Trees, Yosemite Valley
“Autumn Trees, Yosemite Valley” — Yosemite Valley trees with colorful autumn foliage.

this spot had some of the best autumn color I encountered on my end-of-October two-day photography visit to Yosemite Valley. In much of the Valley the colors of autumn are subtle — meadows with golden-brown grasses, riverside plants turning yellow, and in some places deciduous trees with fall foliage. But if you look closely you’ll see fall color almost everywhere in this scene, including at the base of the distant cliffs.

This clearing is a bit unusual in Yosemite Valley. Most of the Valley is covered with coniferous forests, and where it is more open it is typically in meadow terrain. Here I think the thinner trees may be due to the very rocky ground, places where the Merced River overflows seasonally.

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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.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak And Granite, Autumn

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Oak And Granite, Autumn
“Oak And Granite, Autumn” — Autumn leaves on black oak trees against a background of Yosemite Valley granite cliffs.

I like oak trees and oak leaves, but they do not generally provide the most intense fall color. In normal light the leaves are a sort of tan-brown that I charitably call “golden-brown.” They aren’t typically as spectacular as other trees that turn golden, orange, and red. However, when the sun is behind the tree, the leaves are translucent enough to glow with rich, warm color.

I was at this location in Yosemite Valley to photograph large trees in an open meadow. When I arrived the shadows from cliffs across the valley were staring to move over the meadow, and trees were gradually losing that colorful glow. Standing under this tree, I looked up and saw the silhouetted branches and luminous color. I quickly set up to photograph straight into the tree and managed a few photographs before the shadows arrived.

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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.