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

Murphy Point, Sunset

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Murphy Point, Sunset - Sunset light on Murphy Point, photographed from Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park
Sunset light on Murphy Point, photographed from Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park

Murphy Point, Sunset. Canyonlands National Park, Utah. April 6, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on Murphy Point, photographed from Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park.

We spent the better part of a day scouting around the “Island in the Sky” section of Canyonlands National Park, partly with the goal of figuring out where to be for golden hour light. In the end, the very first place we had really considered ended up being the place we came back to – the Green River Overlook. While quite a few landscape photographs can be somewhat spontaneous and a matter of quickly taking advantage of ephemeral conditions, the decision to photograph at the Green River Overlook was quite the opposite. Not only had I decided that I wanted to shoot at this location, but I had even worked out the composition of the shot that I wanted.

With that in mind, we came back here almost an hour before actual sunset, confident that the photograph I had in mind would be waiting for me. And it was! That photograph was shot looking roughly west or a bit south of west and across the canyons dropping into the Green River. But I also had quite a bit of time to look around at other possible subjects as the light slowly transformed. The steep upper cliffs of (what I believe to be) Murphy Point stood to my south and the sunset light began to intensely color their red rocks during the final few minute of sunlight. So I took a moment away from the shot I had come for, pivoted the tripod this direction, and made a few exposures. The geology seen in this area is amazing. Layer upon layer build from the bottoms of the river canyon, through the side canyons and onto the lower plateaus. Then shattered rock stacks up against the tall upper sandstone cliffs that are topped by the relative flatlands of the “Island in the Sky” area. Here the low angle side-light from the setting sun reveals a lot of the more subtle details of this landscape.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Deals and Sales, Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mark III 24-105mm Lens Kit Back in Stock at B&H

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I see that the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera Kit with Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens is back in stock at site-sponsor B&H Photo. The camera was recently announced, but initially was very hard to find – and then became virtually impossible to find while Canon was dealing with some inevitable first-batch issues. But it sounds like those issues have now been resolved, and the camera is again becoming available.

The 5D3 is in some ways very similar to the previous model, the 5D2. The MP count is only very slightly higher – and the small increase won’t have any practical effect on still photographs. Whether a full-frame DSLR has 21MP or 22MP, in the hands of a skillful photographer it will be capable of producing photographs that can be printed quite large. The 5D3 does build in the 5D2 and it offers real improvements – to mention two, the new camera has an upgraded auto-focus system and a significantly higher frame rate. Features like these expand the camera’s useful to encompass a wider range of photographic subjects and situations.

I use the 24-105mm f/4 L IS zoom that is include in this bundle. For most people looking for a first lens for this camera, the 24-105 is likely to be the best option. It provides excellent image quality, image-stabilization, and a usefully large focal-length range. For many types of photography it can be sufficient all by itself.

If you have been waiting for this Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera Kit, you may want to act quickly – B&H reports that the current stock is limited.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Turks Head, Green River

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Turks Head, Green River
“Turks Head, Green River” — Green River at Turks Head in hazy evening light, Canyonlands National Park.

I made several photographs at Canyonlands National Park’s Green River Overlook on this beautiful early April evening. This elevated area of the park is a high, flat plateau at about 6000′ of elevation. It tends to drop off steeply, especially on the east, south, and west sides which lead to the canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers just above their confluence. Below this upper plateau there is a second plateau about 1000′ lower at the White Rim, with yet another drop-off into the bottoms of the river canyons and their tributaries.

This photograph looks roughly southwest into the canyon of the Green River. The river is barely visible between the foreground White Rim and the solitary butte of “Turks Head” just beyond. In the early evening the light was slanting nearly horizontally across the scene from the right and hitting west-facing slopes and glancing along the top of the White Rim. Haze filled the air, softening the light, muting the colors of the scene, and accentuating the grand scale of this landscape.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Wildlife

Snow Geese and Farm Buildings

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Snow Geese and Farm Buildings - Snow geese fly low past a Skagit Valley farm, Washington.
Snow geese fly low past a Skagit Valley farm, Washington.

Snow Geese and Farm Buildings. Skagit Valley, Washington. February 19, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow geese fly low past a Skagit Valley farm, Washington.

Back in February I was fortunate to be able to spend a day photographing migratory (and other) birds in the lower Skagit Valley area in the state of Washington. For me the primary draw was the snow geese, since I had just spent several days photographing Ross’s geese in California’s Central Valley, along with the beautiful trumpeter swans that hang out in the fields in this part of Washington. I had also been alerted to the presence of bald eagles in the area.

I drove up very early in the day from the Seattle area, arriving at just about the time that would have been sunrise… if it had not been a typical gray Washington day. I passed through a small town by the highway and then headed out into this farm country, immediately spotting scattered groups of trumpeter swans, whose large white bodies stand out clearly against the intense green of the new growth in the fields. However, all of these birds were too far from the roads, so I moved on, soon passing what looked like a country produce stand in front of a fallow field that where there were some geese. I stopped – and immediately heard that striking sound of the huge flocks of geese – and got out my camera gear to see what I could do. At this point I looked around a bit more and saw flock after flock of birds high in the sky to the west and heading this direction. Very soon all of these flocks began land on this very field where I had fortuitously stopped and in minutes there were tens of thousands of geese on the ground and many more flying routes above and around the field.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.