Tag Archives: national

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

Red and Yellow Leaves, Sandstone Wall

February 8, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Brilliant red and yellow autumn leaves of oak and red leaf maple against a backdrop of layered and fractured sandstone, Zion National Park

I suppose that I have to be honest and admit that the main reason for making this photograph was the absolutely ridiculous and gaudy colors in this little bit of red rock canyon. You can find red trees in this area, and you can find yellow trees, but it isn’t often that you (or I, anyway) find this combination of leaves, packed so tightly together, and against the intense color of the sandstone wall.

We had probably driven past this spot a few times before we finally came back and pulled over and photographed it. I can’t speak for the others in my group, but in some ways it is almost a bit embarrassing to point a camera at something so colorful and photograph it… just because it is colorful. Compositionally it was a very tricky thing to shoot. The only feature that brings much relief to the shades of red, yellow, and orange is the single arching crack leading up from right to left.

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

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point

February 6, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The canyon of the Colorado River, from Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah

The light was a bit tricky when we drove out to Dead Horse Point to look at the famous view of the Colorado River as it loops below huge cliffs at the edge of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. It was nearing the middle of the day, so the soft morning and evening light was nowhere to be found. It was also hazy, with the slightly opaque air taking on distinctly blue colors. For all of these reasons, and also perhaps as a nod to old school landscape photography, I went with a black and white rendition of this photograph.

This is a truly remarkable bit of terrain. First, in the bottom of the canyon the Colorado River negotiates and abrupt horseshoe bend here beneath the tall cliffs leading up to the “Island in the Sky” portion of Canyonlands National Park. Above the river are a series of huge terraces form as the river eroded its way though the deep and old layers of sedimentary rock that characterize this area. Shooting with a slightly long focal length, I was able to eliminate most extraneous subjects and crop tightly around this area of massive cliffs and terraces.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelican Flock

February 2, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of white pelicans settles on an island in the San Joaquin Valley, California

It probably should be a bit embarrassing to admit that there is a lot I don’t know about birds and other kinds of wildlife, but at least I continue to get the joy of learning new things because of that! I’ve been a fan of the coastal California pelicans for some time, often photographing them along the Pacific shoreline. I’ve learned a bit about their habits, to the point that I know some particular places and conditions in which I’m likely to find them, and I’ve built a bit of a collection of photographs of these birds. But I did not know that I would find pelicans at this Central Valley location, much less that they would yet a different sort of pelican than I have known about from the coast.

On this early December morning it was tremendously foggy when we arrived. We figured it would clear – eventually – but at first it was just about impossible to find birds to photograph since the distance that they wanted to keep between themselves and curious photographers seemed to be just about equal to the limits of visibility in the fog. We could hear birds, but were barely able to see them. At one point we stopped for a moment to roll down the windows and listen and I looked up to see a completely silent flock of large birds briefly though faintly overhead as they flew through the fog. I couldn’t figure out what they were, though I recall thinking that they were pelican-like. Some time later, perhaps hours, another member of our group asked if I had seen the pelicans, and it all came together. They had spotted “white pelicans” (which I didn’t know about) in very nearly the same spot where I had seen this flock fly past. So, on a later pass around the refuge perimeter road I was watching out for them, and they turned out to be easy to see in the clearer air and better light.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Reeds and Reflected Sky

January 30, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Reeds and blue sky reflected in the surface of a San Joaquin Valley pond

This image could serve an example of how puzzlement, patience, and good luck can lead to a photograph. I have looked at precisely this clump of reeds perhaps a half-dozen times, thought about how I might photograph them, but could not make it work. They grow in a marshy pond in a San Joaquin Valley wildlife refuge, near a spot where I almost always stop at least once each time I visit. The usual reason for stopping at this precise spot has little or nothing to do with these plants, and more to do with the wildlife that might be around or with the interesting light that often appears here at certain times of the day.

When I have stopped here to photograph those other things, or perhaps just to look around, I have noticed the reeds and wanted to photograph them, but remained puzzled about how to make the photograph work. It may seem odd that such a simple subject would be challenging, but it is hard to find a sight line to one clump that isn’t interrupted by others, the water is often a bit stirred up by wind and birds, and getting the right reflections and light on the water is a challenge. But each time I think about it, and I had even tried a few previous photographs. But this time I had some luck on my side. First, it was a very calm and still morning, so the surface of the water was almost glass smooth, with just very subtle ripples. Second, the morning fog and haze distinctly muted what could otherwise be an overpowering blue in the reflection from the sky. (I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but I didn’t even go back to my vehicle to get a tripod to make this shot, instead just shooting it handheld.)

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: national

Red and Yellow Leaves, Sandstone Wall

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point

Reeds and Reflected Sky

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