Tag Archives: color

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

Autumn Cottonwood Tree

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Autumn Cottonwood Tree
“Autumn Cottonwood Tree” — A small cottonwood tree with autumn foliage next to a sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park.

Although it has been more than a decade since I made this photograph (yes, another “lost and found” photo), I have distinct memories of the circumstances surrounding it. That fall I spent a few weeks exploring the Southern Utah landscape, from the backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante to several national parks. Sometimes I photographed alone, but along the way I met up with various friends, relatives, and photographers.

A photographer friend and I camped for several days at Capitol Reef National Park. We explored areas near the campground. (Yes, we tried the pie…) But one day we took a longer trip into the park’s backcountry. At the end of the day we returned to the campground, and just before we arrived we stopped to photograph these autumn trees against a red rock wall.

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff

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Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff
“Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff” — Cottonwood trees with fall foliage in front of a red rock cliff, Capitol Reef.

From what I’ve seen, the fall color season in Utah can be lengthy. On my visits I’ve seen the tail-end of aspen color at the beginning of October, implying that it peaks in late September. Out in red rock country the cottonwoods and oaks and other trees transition a bit later. And although I’ve never timed it quite right, I hear that great color is to be found in Zion Canyon in early November.

We stopped to photograph these trees in Capitol Reef National Park on our drive back to camp from a day of photographing in a remote region of the park. It was late afternoon and the light was not going to last a lot longer, so we pulled over a short distance from our campground and worked with these trees growing right in front of a sandstone cliff.

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Hillside

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Autumn Hillside
“Autumn Hillside” — Aspens and other autumn foliage, Utah.

This is another photograph from “nowhere in particular,” a location where I often find myself while searching for subjects. It turns out that there’s a lot of interesting stuff to see there if you slow down a bit and keep your eyes open. This slope is on the west side of a range of Utah mountains that overlooks much lower desert country, and I photographed it late in the day when the light was warm-toned and soft.

I suppose that this photograph violates a few of the “rules” about having a clear primary subject and so on. But here the main focus isn’t a single thing — it is the overall wash of color and texture on this hillside. Where is this spot? I can say that it is in the Dixie National Forest, but that is about as specific as I’ll be!

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Aspen Trees, Utah

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Autumn Aspen Trees, Utah
“Autumn Aspen Trees, Utah” — Dense forest of tall aspen trees with autumn foliage, Dixie National Forest.

This seems like a somewhat unusual aspen photograph for me. One difference is the color palette — in addition to the usual yellows and reds, there is a lot of green from the small conifers growing beneath the aspen canopy. Another difference is that I photographed during the main part of the day, rather than in the soft light of early morning or evening.

Over the course of several visits to Utah I gradually learned that the best sights are not restricted to the famous national parks. There is a lot to see and photograph in those places, but state parks, national monuments, and national forests also present loads of opportunities. This photograph was made in the vast and diverse Dixie National Forest.

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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.