Tag Archives: green

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

Young Trees, Zion Canyon

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Young Trees, Zion Canyon
Slender young trees growing at the base of the sandstone cliffs in Zion Canyon.

Young Trees, Zion Canyon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Slender young trees growing at the base of the sandstone cliffs in Zion Canyon.

The biggest and oldest cottonwood trees are some of the most impressive specimens in these canyons. They often tower high above their surroundings, and for this reason can be photographed against cliff faces or sky without interference from other plants. They fill sections of canyon bottoms throughout the Southwest and, for that matter, they are found in an amazing range of places in the west, from near desert locations to the flatlands of California’s Central Valley. However, their dominance of the plantscape can sometimes distract from other worthy subjects that do not shout their presence quite so loudly.

These young trees in Zion Canyon have a kind of grace and fragility that contrasts with the solid mass of those bigger cottonwoods. The branches of these trees are slender and they move in the breeze. (Which, by the way, adds a particular challenge to photographing them in very low light.) The soft canyon light reflecting down from far above almost makes them luminous.

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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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Orange, Green, and Black

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Orange, Green, and Black
A safety pylon casts a shadow on green metal panels next to black plastic.

Orange, Green, and Black. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A safety pylon casts a shadow on green metal panels next to black plastic.

This photograph came out of my participation in a project to photograph orange things (around Halloween, not surprisingly) with a group of fellow photographers. The group gets together every so often — virtually at the current time — to share recent photographic work. I suspect that the reasons include both social value and photographic value, but these little exercises can be useful, especially if you are trying to get “un-stuck,” are looking to explore something different, or are just seeking out a way to practice the work of seeing.

Because it was around Halloween I wanted to avoid going for the low-hanging fruit and just photographing pumpkins and autumn leaves. So for a couple of weeks as I walked around my community I kept my eyes open for anything orange. I also started to try to think a bit more broadly about what it meant to photograph orange — and one idea was that orange could easily just be one component color in a subject. Since I was looking for that color, it isn’t a surprise that the pylon first caught my attention. But I quickly started thinking about the relationship between green and orange, the shadow, and the dark pattern at the left side.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Early Autumn Aspen Grove

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Early Autumn Aspen Grove
A small grove of Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen trees begins to take on autumn color.

Early Autumn Aspen Grove. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small grove of Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen trees begins to take on autumn color.

Over the past decade or so the fall color change in the Eastern Sierra Nevada has come to attract a lot of attention. It is not unwarranted, as the aspen color throughout the range can be quite spectacular. It is also pretty accessible, and as the state’s population has continued to increase and as social media has spread the word faster and more widely… some areas have become quite crowded and even overrun for a few weeks each year. A few well-known locations have become some famous that they literally attract mobs of photographers and others. I won’t name them here — they get enough attention already. (I sometimes wonder how much blame I share as the author of a book on this event — though my publisher went along with my vow to drastically limit naming places that can’t handle the traffic.)

Despite the crowds, I hinted at the good new in the first paragraph of this post when I wrote, “throughout the range.” Often folks head straight toward the Big Name locations (as is natural) and drive right past a whole bunch of other wonderful instances of fall color. Over the years, some of my favorite aspen trees have been in places that are distinctly non-iconic. There are many things to like about this development. It means that I have subjects everywhere! I frequently find myself alone while photographing these locations. And over time I’ve developed my own little collection of place with personal meaning. This photograph comes from such a place, a grove that I had literally driven past for years before I finally stopped one day to make photographs.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Streamside Trees, Red Rock Cliff

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Streamside Trees, Red Rock Cliff
Narrowleaf cottonwood trees with a few autumn leaves beneath sandstone cliff along the Virgin River, Zion National Park.

Streamside Trees, Red Rock Cliff. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Narrowleaf cottonwood trees with a few autumn leaves beneath sandstone cliff along the Virgin River, Zion National Park.

The trees along the Virgin River in Zion National Park are a big attraction for me, especially as the autumn color transition begins. There is quite a variety of these trees, ranging from conifers to deciduous trees, from small to large, in locations ranging from open flats to ledges far up on the red rock cliffs and on the more open highlands far above. Landscape photographer friends like to joke that we just make pictures of “rocks, water, and trees” — and all of those play a big part in this landscape.

This little mini-grove lies a bit off to the side from a popular and busy Zion Canyon trail. Working in such a canyon, with its shade and diffused, soft light, is very appealing to me, and the contrasts between green foliage and red rock make it even better. These trees grow in one of the many bends in the canyon as it winds back and forth, and the sandstone cliffs form a sort of wide alcove here. The Virgin River — at a fairly low rate of flow — runs past in the foreground.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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