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

Red Strata

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Red Strata
Overlapping ridges of red strata in the Utah backcountry.

Red Strata. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Overlapping ridges of red strata in the Utah backcountry.

Our plans for this day in Southwest Utah were a bit vague. Initially I had in mind perhaps three or four possible destinations, but recent rainfall (which leads to mud, with its pluses and minuses) convinced me that perhaps a drive on a long, isolated backroad might make more sense than a foray into a deep and narrow canyon. Besides, I knew of at least one canyon along the route that was less likely to be muddy, being a bit wider and shallower. So off we went.

One thing about a couple of photographers driving through a fascinating, beautiful place is that… there are a lot of stops. By the time we got to a decent turn-around point on this drive we realized that it was late enough in the day that we probably wouldn’t have a lot of time to explore on foot on the way back. I made a guess that a particular section of narrow canyon might be easily accessible from our route, though I couldn’t be sure since I had not previously visited that canyon. We stopped, walked a bit, and quickly realized that the entry was a bit more complex than we had in mind. We tried another canyon entrance with similar results — given more time we could have gone in, but time was the one thing we didn’t have. But along the route on the way in I had noticed this impressive are of impressively red and impressively eroded strata, and we had time to stop and photograph it before heading on.

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Sculpted Sandstone

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Sculpted Sandstone
Sky light reflected on sculpted and curving sandstone in a Utah slot canyon

Sculpted Sandstone. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sky light reflected on sculpted and curving sandstone in a Utah slot canyon

We have to change the way we think about the daily progression of light when photographing in slot canyons. I first learned this when photographing in the red sandstone country of Utah, but it is just as true in the relatively less colorful canyons of Death Valley or even in some places in the plain gray granite landscape of the Sierra Nevada. In most cases we are drawn to the warm, early morning light, with its long shadows and lovely color. But in the canyons that light can be far less compelling, and it may even just end up seeming drab. Once you reset your expectations you find that the best canyon light often comes in the middle of the day, when the sun rises high enough to directly illuminate the red canyon rims, and then this light bounces and reflects downward into the canyon depths.

I made this photograph in a spot in a Utah canyon that was perhaps an even better than usual location for reflected canyon light. The rock was red standstone. Late-morning sunlight lit the upper rim, and that light suffused the lower reaches of the canyon. But here the narrow section of slot canyon wasn’t very long, and some bluish light from the sky reflected on angled rock surfaces, introducing a striking color contrast to the scene.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Slot Canyon

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Slot Canyon
The narrow confines of a Utah slot canyon

Slot Canyon. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The narrow confines of a Utah slot canyon.

Utah’s red rock and canyon country is not my native landscape, though I could see how it could be in another life. I somehow managed to live through decades of my life mostly unaware of its magic. (I have explained previously that this may be partially the result of long childhood road trips from California to the Midwest — they nearly always passed through far less scenic parts of Utah.) I had seen photographs, and eventually I started listening more carefully to the stories my friends told. Finally, less than a decade ago, I made my first visit, a long trip on which we visited Cedar Breaks, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Arches. I was completely taken by this landscape and spent many weeks there over the next few years. (I haven’t been back recently, in protest against the state’s promotion of and surrender to the administration’s attack on our American public lands in the state.)

This photograph came from one of those later visits. This time, about four years ago, I had several weeks of time to travel around the state and explore. Part of that exploration was done entirely alone, but later I joined up with some other photographer friends… and I concluded the trip by meeting up with family at Zion. The photograph comes from that early, solo portion. I had heard the names of some places that weren’t far from where I was staying, so I decided to investigate. I frequently — and intentionally — don’t over-research locations, since I prefer to discover them on my own. So I figured out the minimal information about which gravel road to take, and I drove there and headed out. Before long I came to a turn-out at a spot that provided access to a beautiful wash, so I stopped and started hiking. Soon the canyon narrowed and before long I was in this beautiful slot canyon, still wet from recent rain. This spot was special — a place where the transition from open wash to narrow slot canyon was very apparent.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

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

Weathered Sandstone Wall

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Weathered Sandstone Wall
A weathered and cracked sandstone wall in Utah canyon country

Weathered Sandstone Wall. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. October 28, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A weathered and cracked sandstone wall in Utah canyon country

It has been about four-and-a-half years since I visited this spot and made this photograph, but I remember it distinctly. We had followed the twisting course of a small stream down a canyon as it wound back and forth between the tall sandstone walls. Eventually we perhaps began to think it was time to turn around, but it was hard to resist finding out what was around “one more bend” — until we had passed through quite a few more of them! I remember three things about this particular wall. It was huge — a monumental expanse of nearly solid granite broken in a few spots where giant flakes of rock had fallen. The stream passed right along the base of the wall. And there were odd circular patterns inscribed into its surface — so regular in shape that I first thought they must have been made by humans.

This spot is in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a place that we might have believed to be safely protected for future generations. But these days, when America has been turned upside-down, things we took for granted are now threatened. And, yes, there are forces in the state of Utah that are working to take land out of this incredible monument and turn it over to extractive industries to dig it up and take out shale oil, uranium, and whatever else they can get their hands on. There are many things we can do about this. One very important step is to get the attention of the people of the state of Utah and remind them that one of their greatest assets is the beautiful system of parks, monuments, national forests, and other lands that draws visitors from all over the world — visitors who support a thriving tourism and recreation economy in the state. Since their legislators don’t seem to respond to reason or shame, perhaps they will respond to economic pressure. This week a consortium of outdoor manufacturers announced that they are moving their annual convention out of Utah. Lots of us are vowing to not visit the state until they stop trying to destroy it — and we won’t be staying in their motels, eating in their restaurants, buying gas there, or anything else.

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