Tag Archives: light

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

Light on Red Rock

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Light on Red Rock
Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

Light on Red Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

As I have waded through my 2012 archive of raw images from Utah, made during two autumn trips to the southern part of the state that lasted nearly a full month in total, I am again reminded to the incredibly diverse ways in which the ubiquitous sandstone can be seen. Sometimes, in stark light, the colors are not that striking. In the depths of canyons they can be unbelievably intense. In dawn and sunset light they can become so saturated as to be nearly unbelievable. In shade they can be tinged with blue. And on it goes…

I made this photograph in “normal” daytime light, in a place where the sun beats down without obstruction. I don’t recall for sure now, but judging by the reasonable light levels of the highlights, it may have been a bit overcast. In this location the rock tends to organize into “fins” and fin-like formations, with long walls that are tall and parallel to one another. The nearly overhead light created shadows on the side of the rocks facing me, but each face was also subtly lit by reflections.

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

Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon

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Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon
A beam of sunlight on trees and red rock in the canyon of the Escalante River.

Sunlight, Escalante River Canyon. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A beam of sunlight on trees and red rock in the canyon of the Escalante River.

On this trip eastward across Southern Utah we came across this lovely section of the Escalante River at just about the perfect moment. We had just made our obligatory stop at the Kiva Koffeehouse — perhaps the most improbably-located such place I’ve ever visited — and were back on the road, making the short descent to the crossing of this river before the road rises to along Calf Creek to pass along Hell’s Backbone. It was October, and the trees along the valley were just turning autumn colors, and clouds were sending beams of light across the landscape.

I’ve visited and photographed along the Escalante several times, generally walking down into the canyon and wandering slowly, my preferred mode. Yet driving though this section always seems magical, too, and every time I cross the river here I think of those other places I’ve visited along its route. Heck, I’m thinking of them again as I write this!

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.

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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

Sandstone Landscape

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Sandstone Landscape
The sandstone landscape of Arches National Park in hazy morning light.

Sandstone Landscape. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The sandstone landscape of Arches National Park in hazy morning light.

There aren’t really any obvious landscape icons in this photograph, but it felt to me like it captured something characteristic of the broader landscape of Arches National Park. Made on a hazy October morning, there were some rather impressive towers behind me as I made the photograph, but much of what was in front was muted by the haze. There is one of the ubiquitous fins, some sunlit foreground dry grass and brush, a plateau covered with rounded sandstone formations, and in the distance a landscape that includes the canyon of the Colorado River.

I am particularly intrigued by landscapes such as that seen just beyond the fin, where low, rounded sandstone formations cover the ground. From a distance they are not very imposing, but up close such places are full of things to sustain the interest if you can take the time to wander in such intimate landscapes.

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.

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

Red Rock Detail

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Red Rock Detail
A section of sandstone cliff, Arches National Park.

Red Rock Detail. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A section of sandstone cliff, Arches National Park.

There is a story about my first visit to Arches National Park that we like to recount. (Perhaps you have heard it?) It derives from a habit of mine of not doing too much research before visiting a new location — I prefer to let some things remain a mystery so that I can have the joy of “discovering” the place for myself. That was the case on our first visit to Arches. I really didn’t know anything more than that there were (duh!) some archest there and that it was a national park. We arrived in Moab in the early afternoon, and finding ourselves with more time that day than expected we decided to make a quick first visit. A reliable source reports that I pretty much lost my composure upon “discovering” this collection of towers, arches, cliffs, and more.

This photograph comes from our second visit, a few years later and during a different season. By now we knew a bit more about what to expect, and I arranged to be in a particular spot early in the morning with the prospect of photographing dawn light on sandstone features. I made quite a few photographs that morning, but this one is an example of my interest in using long lenses to photograph small details of the landscape.

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.

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.