Tag Archives: face

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

Red Cliffs and Trees

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Red Cliffs and Trees
“Red Cliffs and Trees” — Kolob Canyon red sandstone walls in morning light and shadow, Zion National Park.

There are plenty of people whose knowledge of the red rock sandstone formations of the Southwest exceeds mine. But I have observed tremendous variations in these rocks as I photographed in Utah. The rock generally comes in layers that vary significantly in color and texture. Sometimes they are thick, uniform, and massive. In other locations they are filled with textured sub-layers and contain curves and cracks.

The example in this photograph is one of those massive, solid layers. This cliff is in Zion National Park’s slightly-more-remote Kolob Canyon. It is in a location where you can get quite close to this impressive layer. I made the photograph on a morning with a bit of haze. The position of the sun in front and to the right of the camera produced rim light on the cliff’s edges.

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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

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

Sandstone Cliff Detail

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Sandstone Cliff Detail
“Sandstone Cliff Detail” — A section of a sandstone cliff face featuring fracturing, strata, exfoliation, and water markings.

The textures, forms, colors, and patterns found in Utah sandstone walls amaze me. They can be so complex that I sometimes imagine that I see things like writing or images, but patterns formed naturally over the millennia. Here we can see layering at more than one angle, marks left by dripping and flowing water, the effects of exfoliation, and more.

This bit of wall might usually not get a lot of attention. If I recall correctly (it has been a decade) I found it in an odd corner of a canyon at Capitol Reef — not in a particularly iconic location within the park. Because it was later in the day the high canyon walls blocked the direct sunlight, allowing the softer light to fill that shadows a bit and reveal more details.

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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: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Art, Zaragoza

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Street Art, Zaragoza
“Street Art, Zaragoza’ – A fanciful female face, street art, Zaragoza, Spain.

I may be misconstruing things that I do not understand, but it seems like some places in Europe tolerate graffiti and/or street art more than in the USA, and perhaps that some of it is a bit more sophisticated than the “tagging” that we see so often here. (Indeed, there is tagging in Europe — even in this image — and there is some fascinating street art in America, too.)

I photographed this detail of a wall in Zaragoza, Spain. I don’t know the cultural reference of the figure, if there is one, but the image caught my attention. I get a kick out of how it is positioned as if the vertical pipe is almost irrelevant — yet the pipe covering that eye does affect how we regard the face.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

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

Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment

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Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment
“Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment” — Clouds drift across the rugged slopes of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

If my memory is correct, I made this photograph as I started my long drive back to the Bay Area from the Eastern Sierra. My typical final day over there starts early with some photography at “one last spot,” after which I pack up and get on the road. But almost invariably I spot some distraction during the drive and end up pulling out the photography equipment along the way.

There is a lot of seasonal autumn stuff in this photograph if you know what to look for. Some is obvious, like the golden-brown grasses and high desert plants in the foreground. Some is a bit harder to spot, including the aspen groves on the lower slopes where the high desert meets the first conifers. Those soft, drifting clouds are another hint – they can happen at any time, but at this time of day they are much less common in the summer. Finally, way up on the high ridge there is a dusting of snow from an autumn storm.

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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