Tag Archives: green

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

Slot Canyon Tree

March 22, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A box elder tree stands against the vertical sandstone walls of a Utah slot canyon

Near the beginning of this late-October photographic trip in Utah, we visited a long canyon, slot-like in places, in the southern reaches of Utah in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Although I had been is small sections of little slot canyons before, this was actually the first time I ventured up a desert canyon like this one (with the exception of some in Death Vally) that had a creek running up the bottom, steep sandstone walls, and plenty of cottonwoods, box elders, and other typical plants. We started in a more or less flat area outside the canyon, waded up a section of the creek to enter the canyon, and spent the next few hours exploring and making photographs.

I have a thing about trees standing in front of rock walls, and among the mental images I was carrying as we went to the Southwest were several with that theme. I was actually thinking more about trees with fall colors, but in this particular canyon there was a still a lot of green foliage – and I liked the somewhat unusual combination of the leaves’ lime green and the pinkish, almost purple coloration of the rock in the soft reflected canyon light.

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

Cottonwood Grove and Cliff, Autumn

February 11, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A cottonwood grove in golden fall colors, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

In late October these bright yellow-gold cottonwood trees seem to be almost everywhere in Utah, albeit at slightly different stages of color development. Some are still mostly green with just a hint of yellow, while others have lost most of their leaves. From what I can tell, the difference in the pattern of change relate to things such as elevation, whether the trees are in sheltered canyons – in Zion Canyon they seem to change much later – or out in the open, and other causes that I don’t yet understand. One thing I do know: Between the aspens, which change color several weeks earlier, and the cottonwoods it seems like the entire month of October produces a lot of fall color. From what I hear it even extends into November, though I haven’t been there during that month to see it for myself.

On this day we began early with very cold hike into a portion of the Escalante River, which runs for quite a good distance through this section of Utah. Before the day was over we were challenged by strong wind, more cold, and eventually even a bit of light rain, but early on when I made this photograph the conditions were still bit less challenging, at least as far as the wind was concerned. Here the water course ran very close to the cliff wall, and clumps of golden cottonwoods grew between the water and the sandstone face. Although some direct light was beginning to strike the upper canyon walls and reflect light down into the canyon, here at the bottom along the creek the light was still soft and diffused.

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

Single-Leaf Ash, Green and Yellow Leaves

January 20, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A single-leaf ash in a narrow sandstone-walled canyon begins its autumn transition from green to yellow, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Now, coming back to this photograph quite a while after I made it, I distinctly remember that the gradient from yellow to green of these leaves caught my attention when I saw this small plant growing out of a crack in the water carved sandstone of this canyon wall. I’m often attracted by dark trunks and branches like those on this specimen, especially when they are seen against a background such as this pink sandstone with the patches of darker, lichen-covered rock.

The photograph was made in the same canyon in this national monument where I made a number of other photographs on this same very productive day – productive despite the difficult weather conditions, which were cold, windy, and a bit cloudy. Deep in the canyon and against this canyon wall, the best light is often that from completely clear daytime sky, since that sort of light reflects the best off of the canyon walls and carries with it the warm colors of the rock. Given that this was a tremendously windy day, the lack of leaf blur in this photograph indicates that it was made in a slightly sheltered area of the canyon and, no doubt, by waiting to shoot between the gusts.

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

Cottonwood Trees Detail, Autumn

January 3, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Close up view of golden autumn cottonwood leaves, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

One of the main reasons we visited this particular canyon at this particular time of year and on this exact day was… fall color from cottonwood trees and a few other contributors. This small group was growing almost directly against the cliff walls alongside the river, and when I was there the cliffs shaded the trees and provided softer, diffused light.

While many of my cottonwood photographs set the trees in their surroundings a bit more clearly, in this one I simply wanted to show the colors and patterns and textures of the trees themselves, so I chose to shoot in tight and exclude anything that was not “tree.” These trees really are this colorful, especially in this light. This presented me with a bit of a challenge while working on the photograph in post. When shooting in the shade, as I like to do with such subjects, the light is often quite blue, since the scene is largely lit by that giant blue light box that we often refer to as “the sky.” Most people (other than photographers) would not notice the blue-ness of the scene while standing there, but it becomes quite apparent when looking at the photograph. In order to make the color balance conform to what we think we see when on the scene, I often choose to warm up the color balance of all or part of the photograph. For example, I might move the objectively blue tones of background rocks more toward gray, if the rocks were that color. But here, if I went to the “objectively gray” point, the color of the trees shifts to be warm beyond belief, so here I left the overall balance a bit on the blue side.

(Note: This photograph was originally posted with the wrong title. The error has now been corrected.)

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: green

Slot Canyon Tree

Cottonwood Grove and Cliff, Autumn

Single-Leaf Ash, Green and Yellow Leaves

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.