Tag Archives: monument

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

Aspens in Transition

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Aspens in Transition - Aspen forest in autumn color transition near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Aspen forest in autumn color transition near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

Aspens in Transition. Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen forest in autumn color transition near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

During the several days we spent in the Cedar Breaks area (with forays out to further surrounding destinations and back) I was looking for high elevation aspen color, which had, for the most part, passed its prime before we arrived. Many of the higher elevation aspen trees were bare of leaves, though a few sparse delicate leaves remained and in places there were a few trees here and there that somehow managed to retain all of their golden leaves. The rolling terrain of the National Monument along the thru-road, which I traveled several times, was not turning out to be a great spot to find the color I was looking for.

One morning, returning from Cedar Breaks to Brian Head, I saw the gravel road to Brian Head Peak (or Mountain?) and headed up there, to find an expansive 360-degree panorama visible from the summit of the 11,000+ peak. From this high vantage point I was able to spot where those colorful trees had been hiding out on the other side of the ridge west of Brian Head! I could also see that there were some ways to get back into that area, so on the final morning of our visit to this area I found another small gravel road, crossed that ridge, and was able to see vast groves of aspens beyond. While this photograph doesn’t quite show those trees, it does include an interesting feature of this area, the mixed conifer and aspen forest with very tall aspen trees reaching as high or higher than the conifers. Here there were a few brilliantly colorful clumps of aspens left among the other trees, with interesting texture provided by the many bare trunks – and all of this seems a bit more visible due to the soft, diffused light from the high, thin overcast.

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

Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush

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Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush - Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park
Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Forest, Utah. October 7, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

This area was yet another surprise – though perhaps only because I’m a California guy still very much in the early stages of discovering the landscape of Utah. We had driven a long route down a good part of the length of Capitol Reef National Park, climbed over the higher portion of the north-south ridge, and were heading back to our lodgings some distance away. As we drove across this new (to us!) landscape we descended into a long, narrow canyon that had some of the most beautiful red rock walls I had yet seen.

Such canyons provide a wealth of photographic opportunities and require some slightly different thinking about timing and about light. In so many situations, we look for the “good light” at the edges of the day, in the very early morning and then again in the evening. However, in these canyons that is not the only good time to search of the light. At times that are later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon, the higher sun strikes the upper walls of such canyons and reflects beautiful light down into the canyon bottoms, like that may be colored by the rocks from which it reflects. In this spot it was not very bright, but the light was beautiful! Because we were “on our way” from one place to another we almost didn’t stop, if you can believe that!

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

Aspen Forest, Near Cedar Breaks

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Aspen Forest, Near Cedar Breaks - Autumn colors in extensive aspen forests extend into the distance near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Autumn colors in extensive aspen forests extend into the distance near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

Aspen Forest, Near Cedar Breaks. Dixie National Forest, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn colors in extensive aspen forests extend into the distance near Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

This was a serendipitous photograph. We were driving down a main road from Cedar Grove towards the lowlands when I caught site of a decent looking gravel side road that looked like it might head in the direction of some interesting and extensive aspen forests that were in full fall color – so I quickly turned off and headed down this road. It passed through huge stands of aspen trees as it descended toward the south, and eventually I felt that I had gone as far as time allowed, so I turned around and started back up the road with the sun at my back.

At about this time, a high thin layer of clouds moved over. This is more or less ideal for daytime photography of subjects like the aspens since it softens the light just a bit and moderates the harsh shadows and extreme contrasts that are otherwise found during daytime hours. With this tree color and this light, it was mostly a matter of finding some scene that would fit together compositionally, and here I found a bit of open meadow between colorful trees, along with a distant view to further aspen covered hills almost as far as I could see.

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.