You would probably never guess by looking at this photograph, but it was made in a location where there were a lot of other people nearby. It looks like a lonely, fog-filled forest scene, but I made the photograph while walking along a paved path to the entrance of the Pena Palace. The Palace is a remarkable structure that sits on top of a ridge above the town of Sintra, Portugal, not far from Lisbon.
Continue reading Fog and Forest, Pena Palace
Is it ever too early to start thinking about autumn? I don’t think so! Every fall I revisit familiar places to photograph the signs of the changing seasons. One of these is Yosemite Valley, where the most interesting colors often peak right around Halloween. At a minimum I make a long day trip up and back from the San Francisco Bay Area. But my preference is to visit for at least a coupe of days.
Continue reading Autumn Black Oak Leaves
As always, cracked desert mud turns out to be an irresistible subject. I photographed this little patch in the northern portion of Death Valley. We arrived as broken clouds were developing, and that gave us varied light as shadows moved across the landscape. I made this photograph in the “in between” light — not full sun, but strong enough to be directional. The mud patterns are interrupted by the pieces of old wood, but that’s not all to notice in this little scene. Look closely and you’ll see a variety of spring plants beginning to grow in this seemingly-barren terrain.
Continue reading Stick in the Mud
Although it has been more than a decade since I made this photograph (yes, another “lost and found” photo), I have distinct memories of the circumstances surrounding it. That fall I spent a few weeks exploring the Southern Utah landscape, from the backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante to several national parks. Sometimes I photographed alone, but along the way I met up with various friends, relatives, and photographers.
A photographer friend and I camped for several days at Capitol Reef National Park. We explored areas near the campground. (Yes, we tried the pie…) But one day we took a longer trip into the park’s backcountry. At the end of the day we returned to the campground, and just before we arrived we stopped to photograph these autumn trees against a red rock wall.
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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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