Tag Archives: light

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

Aspen Grove, Evening

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Aspen Grove, Evening - A ridgetop aspen grove in full autumn color, Dixie National Forest, Utah
A ridgetop aspen grove in full autumn color, Dixie National Forest, Utah

Aspen Grove, Evening. Dixie National Forest, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A ridgetop aspen grove in full autumn color, Dixie National Forest, Utah

This is another photograph that resulted from a more or less chance drive up a back road that I happened to spot while out looking for color, and the particular location of the photograph is anything but iconic – in fact, I’m betting that this grove of aspens is rarely photographed, given its someone “off the beaten track” location in a place without even a recognizable name. Essentially, we had turned off onto an interesting side road and started driving up into the mountains. A bit earlier we had stopped to photograph incredibly colorful aspens and other trees before moving on.

As we continued on up this climb, we became aware of time issues – mainly because I had an idea about photographing another specific location at sunset, and that location was still a good drive away from here. So when we came to an intersection along the gravel road, it seemed like a fine place to stop, look around, and consider heading back the in the direction from which we had come. As we pulled over we began to see several interesting things here. First, nearby there was a little old track leading into the aspen forest. (A photograph of that subject will appear here later.) Then another side road nearby started to look interesting, so we drove a short distance along it until we had a panoramic view of the mountains leading toward Cedar Breaks. Here we turned around, and drove the short distance back to that intersection, and I though that this row of colorful aspens, set along the edge of the ridge and fronted by a bit of meadow, looked interesting enough to photograph – and when I saw the faint clouds line up in the low spot between the trees I had to photograph the scene in this soft, overcast light.

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.

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

Cedar Breaks, Dusk Light

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Cedar Breaks, Dusk Light - Post-sunset dusk light on the strata and towers of Cedar Breaks, Utah
Post-sunset dusk light on the strata and towers of Cedar Breaks, Utah

Cedar Breaks, Dusk Light. Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Post-sunset dusk light on the strata and towers of Cedar Breaks, Utah

This view of the red rock formations at Cedar Breaks National Monument is from a different portion of the area than shown in the photograph I posted previously, and was made on a different day. Earlier I had photographed aspen color far below in an area of the Dixie National Forest, and when I finished there it seemed like there might be just enough time to swing by this overlook during the very last light of the day. One thing led to another – primarily photographic distractions, if I recall correctly – and when we arrived it was literally the last sunlight, and it was going fast.

By the time I got my gear together and walked out to the edge of the drop-off, the direct sun was pretty much gone, as a consequence of the late hour and of the clouds that were in the west. But sometimes the most beautiful light comes after the sun drops below the horizon, when features are lit by the soft yet colorful western sky and shadows are filled in by this more diffused light. Fortunately it wasn’t too windy – unlike the previous day when the winds were howling – so I was able to continue shooting into this evening light a bit before packing up and heading back to Brian Head.

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.

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

Sunset, Chessman Point, Cedar Breaks

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Sunset, Chessman Point, Cedar Breaks
S”Sunset, Chessman Point, Cedar Breaks” — unset light at Chessman Point, Cedar Breaks National Monument

This was my first visit to Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. On my previous trip though Utah we had driven past the roads leading to Cedar Breaks and – doing what one does while driving these days! – we looked it up on the iPhone, and it sounded quite interesting. The descriptions suggested a high elevation bowl with Bryce Canyon-like features that would be open to the west and sunset light. With this in mind, we decided to end our cross-Nevada drive with an overnight at Brian Head, the seasonally dormant ski area where rooms were both relatively inexpensive and quite nice! After checking in we drove on up the road to the National Monument.

The terrain is very interesting and very “not California” to this Sierra Nevada guy. On one side of the ridge is a gently rolling high terrain of alternative forest and meadows, just the sort of place to find lots of deer in the evening and an altogether quiet and peaceful sort of place. On the other side of the ridge, however, things are quite different. The mountain simply drops away to the west, with brightly colored and complex fluted canyons of red rock and soil. Far below and in the distance we could see large groves of aspen trees. A strong wind was blowing up the west-side canyons, but I managed to stabilize things enough to make a few photographs of this spectacular terrain in near-dusk light.

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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: Sierra Nevada

First Light, Sabrina Basin Aspens

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First Light, Sabrina Basin Aspens - First morning light traverses groves of golden autumn aspen trees, Sabrina Basin
First morning light traverses groves of golden autumn aspen trees, Sabrina Basin

First Light, Sabrina Basin Aspens. Bishop Creek Area, California. October 3 ,2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light traverses groves of golden autumn aspen trees, Sabrina Basin

There is a particular spot in the Sabrina Basin from which I can look down into a deeper portion of the valley where the sunlight does not hit the trees until hours after sunrise. When photographing in this area I almost have a ritual I follow: begin just before dawn at a higher location and shoot in the very first morning light, explore this higher area for an hour or more as the light builds, then leave and begin the descent back into that valley – first photographing it from above as the sun begins to top a tall ridge to the east and its shadow moves across the groves of trees in the bottom of the valley, and then working within the valley-bottom groves.

This photograph was made during those moments when the sun first began to rise over that high ridge, and the sun/shadow line began its traverse of the aspen groves that line the bottom of the canyon. Here the light had reached the first trees closet to me and was just beginning to work its way back toward the further groves that were still in deep shadow.

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.