Tag Archives: national

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

Snag, Red Rock

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Snag, Red Rock
An old snag stands in front of a freactured red rock cliff.

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

An old snag stands in front of a fractured red rock cliff.

Let me repeat a slightly embarrassing story that I’ve told before. For many years I did not bother to photograph in the Southwest. There are several facets to the explanation. I was something of a Sierra “bigot” — I loved that landscape so much that I could hardly understand why I would want to look elsewhere. In addition, when I was very young and my family drove between our California home and the Midwestern states where my relatives lived, I thought that our route through Utah was boring.

So it was only in the last decade or so that I finally “discovered” Utah’s beautiful red rock landscapes. My first visit was on a spring trip that took us to Zion, then across the state through Bryce and Capitol Reef (perhaps the most under-appreciated of these parks) and then to Moab where we visited Arches and Canyonlands. Since that time I have returned at other times of the year and pushed my explorations out beyond the boundaries of the parks, but this photograph comes from that first visit.

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

Redwood Forest Plants

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Redwood Forest Plants
“Redwood Forest Plants” — Detail of plants growing on the redwood forest floor.

We are perhaps spoiled somewhat here in my part of California. We take redwood forests for granted — both the coastal trees and the sequoias found in a few areas of the Sierra. Because I’ve been around these trees almost all my life, I forget sometimes how remarkable they are. Ironically, it is frequently while traveling to other places where forest trees are not of such gigantic size that I realize how shocking their scale can be.

At the same time, familiarly helps me look past the trees themselves and see smaller things that might be overlooked by a person walking through these forests with neck craned upwards in marvel. There is actually a lot taking place right down on the ground, especially during the wet season. I made this photograph one march in redwoods just north of San Francisco.

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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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Winter Desert Evening

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Winter Desert Evening
Evening quiet comes to a wide desert valley in the northern reaches of Death Valley National Park.

Winter Desert Evening. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening quiet comes to a wide desert valley in the northern reaches of Death Valley National Park.

Mostly this scene brings back a memory of utter silence and solitude at the end of a day that had been quite full. I had started far away in a very different part of Death Valley National park, photographing in locations where there were quite a few other people. In the late morning I broke camp and headed north, eventually driving many miles on a long gravel road, over some hills, and out on another road across flats to arrive at this place. There were a few people there when I arrived, but they soon departed.

So I had this entire immense valley to myself for the evening, the night, and the following early morning. I wandered slowly, making photographs along the edge of dunes, until the sun set. I continued photographing as the light became soft and everything became utterly still.

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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Dusk Sky

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Geese, Dusk Sky
A group of geese departs into winter dusk sky above California’s Central Valley.

Geese, Dusk Sky. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of geese departs into winter dusk sky above California’s Central Valley.

The endings of these winter days out in the wetlands photographing birds and Central Valley landscapes can be as magical as their beginnings. The ideal morning begins with thick fog that gradually thins as the sun rises, and there is an excitement about the possibilities of the day ahead. The ideal evening extends until it is almost too dark to see, and hopefully features beautiful twilight color and, with luck, a few last opportunities to photograph birds. It is a time of winding down, of quiet, and perhaps some contemplation or a few final moments with friends before heading home.

On this evening we had very intense sky color to the west, most likely on a day when the air never did completely clear. We kept photographing as the sun set, and as it got darker I continued to make a few final photographs. A small group of geese lifted off from a nearby pond in the cold evening air, flying away against a backdrop of trees, hills, and twilight sky.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.