Tag Archives: morning

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

Calf Creek Canyon

November 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall colors along Calf Creek in the bottom of Calf Creek Canyon, Utah

Anyone who has spent much time in this part of Utah probably knows this view along highway 12 between Boulder and Escalante. They (you?) probably also remember this section of the road well, too, since it follows a rather remarkable route as it drops to the Escalante River from plateau country to the west, rises up a narrow canyon from the Calf Creek and Escalante River confluence, and then runs along the top of a thin bit of high country between very deep canyons.

I drove it more than once on a recent visit, but only stopped to photograph on the final traverse after leaving Boulder to head west and meet family at Zion. It was morning, and I had more time than I needed for the drive, especially since I wanted to arrive in Zion at an hour when the light would be good along Mt. Carmel Highway. As I looked down from the road into the Calf Creek drainage I simply had to stop and make a few photographs. The light was slightly softened by high clouds and the fall color of the cottonwood trees and other foliage along the creek bed was at its peak. A bit of haze accentuated the distance as the canyon and its complex geology meandered toward its meeting with the Escalante a few mile further on.

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

Autumn Morning, Fremont River Valley

November 6, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Autumn morning light and clouds above the valley of the Fremont River

Technically this location is actually just outside of Capitol Reef National Park, but its close enough. The plan on this morning was to make a journey down the east side of the park to a somewhat more remote area, so we started out rather early. After passing through the park and starting the drive to our eventual destination we quickly realized that a fairly unusual and spectacular sunrise was underway, so we found the first available location from which to take advantage of the situation.

This was most definitely not a blah blue sky morning! A variety of clouds filled a good portion of the sky in several directions, though light was able to pass through gaps in the clouds to the east. Above the peaks of Capitol Reef to the west the sky was generally darkened by high clouds that briefly took on rosy dawn colors before fading. To the north were lenticular clouds, some lined up in formations that reminded me of California’s “Sierra wave” clouds. When I saw these clouds and this light, the obvious question was what to put in a photograph that included them — so I quickly wandered over the a high point above the valley of the Fremont River from which I could photograph across the sunlit valley to include the spectacular clouds and darker peaks in the distance.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Haze and Light, Shoreline Trees

October 31, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest trees at the edge of a Sierra Nevada subalpine lake in morning light, Yosemite National Park

This is another photograph from that magical first day of shooting at a location that I would stay at for nearly a full week. As I wrote previously, the magic of this first morning comes from many things. Recognition is one of them — the experience of experiencing again the familiar elements of the Sierra backcountry that I have known for so many years: the sounds of gentle wind and water lapping at the end of the lake, the stillness of the morning air, that beautiful light coming over a ridge and striking trees and rocks from behind, the bits of detritus along the shoreline. A sense of expectation is another — the focus on seeing what is new at this place, the almost certain knowledge that I will discover new and unexpected things during the upcoming days.

On this morning I walked down to this lake for the first time. (I had arrived so late the previous day — after sunset, actually — that I had not even gone to the shoreline.) I began to circle around its west side slowly, first on a trail through flat terrain near where we camped, and then on rockier areas that forced me to ascend above the water a bit. All the time I was looking for subjects and compositions — though it would take a few more days before I fully fell into the ideal mode of seeing. I love backlight and I live juxtapositions of subjects, and I was attracted to the fringe of morning light on the branches of the trees at left and on the grasses below, and to how they contrasted with the deeply shaded area beyond.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning, Subalpine Lake

October 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A granite peninsula holding small trees extends into the waters of a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

I made this photograph on our first real photography day of our early September backcountry photography trip in Yosemite National Park. There is a sort of life-cycle to any trip and especially for longer trips like this one. The entire first day of the “expedition” was spent loading vehicles, driving across California, and getting settled into first night accommodations in the eastern Sierra. The second day was a travel day — first a drive up to our trailhead, getting our gear to the packers who would take the majority of it in to our destination, leaving vehicles and starting the long hike, arrival and camp setup, and dinner… and the day was gone. So this third day of the trip was the first for serious photography.

The first day in a location where you will spend substantial time photographing is an interesting one, and the first morning is a very special time. After two days of transit, this is when photography begins. We arose before dawn, loaded up packs of camera gear, and headed down to the lake, each following his or her own path. It is a time of renewal and recognition — of the features and sensory elements of being in the Sierra high country and of focusing your “seeing” intensely. I began by first making an obligatory warm-up shot or two and then working my way around the west side of the lake, looking back across it toward the early morning sun as it eventually rose high enough to backlight trees and rocks. When I look at this photograph, the point of view and the elements in the frame remind me again of those first day sensations as we began our relationship with this lake and its surrounding terrain, a location we would photograph for the better part of a week.

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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Tag Archives: morning

Calf Creek Canyon

Autumn Morning, Fremont River Valley

Morning Haze and Light, Shoreline Trees

Morning, Subalpine Lake

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.