Tag Archives: north

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost

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Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost
“Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost” — Fallen aspen leaves rimmed with frost, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

I ended up doing something a bit unusual with this subject. Instead of selecting one version from the several images I captured, I have now shared three of the same subject. Usually I arrive at a favorite when this happens, but in this case I’m actually torn about which version that is! ( You can find the other two among my recent posts.) Two are, like this one, in landscape orientation and the other uses portrait format.

The tyical fall color photograph focuses on peak color leaves, with their red, orange, and yellow colors. This photo goes in a bit of a different direction. While a few of the fallen leaves exhibit classic fall colors, overall this photograph features much “cooler” light and a different color palette that includes frosty blue and other dark leaf colors.

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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

Trunks and Needles (Vertical)

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Trunks and Needles (Vertical)
“Trunks and Needles (Vertical)” — Trunks and needles at the base of a small copse of Sierra Nevada backcountry trees.

This photograph is the companion to one of the same subject that I shared a while ago — that one was in landscape (or wide) orientation, while this one is in portrait mode. I photographed the bases of these closely-spaced trees during a short backpacking trip into the Sierra Nevada east of Yosemite National Park back in July.

These pines (lodgepole) are ubiquitous in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, and their form varies greatly depending on things like the elevation, the nature of the ground they grow on, and available moisture. While they can form forests of tall and straight trees, they can also adopt the twisted and bent forms typical of high elevations trees.

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Utah Backroad

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Utah Backroad
“Utah Backroad” — A Utah backroad ascends into a steep canyon at Capitol Reef National Park.

This track turns off from another gravel backcountry road and then winds its way into the high sandstone mountains of Capitol Reef National Park. There are roads like this all over Utah, and they lead to some incredible country. This one is in a national park, but many are not — yet they traverse country that would be worthy of such a designation. Fortunately the rough (sometimes very rough) routes minimize tourist impact.

This one rises in a huge Utah feature called the Waterpocket Fold, a long line of rising strata that form a valley and adjacent mountains. The scene has most of the typical Utah backcountry features — a large butte, dry flatland, sandstone towers, and even some nearby canyons.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Slot Canyon Narrows

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Slot Canyon Narrows
“Slot Canyon Narrows” — A very narrow and deep section of a Utah slot canyon.

This is the sort of slot canyon “narrows” that most of us imagine when we think of these places. You can literally touch both walls while walking though, and in places the space was just wide enough for me to pass. (I had to be careful to not bump my tripod-mounted camera as I walked through.) In person, such narrow and deep canyons are darker than we render them in photographs, but the light is very soft and beautiful.

I am sort of embarrassed — yet in a way also sort of proud — that I arrived at this place more or less by accident, and not by the usual direct route. I was out “poking around” in this area, and on a hunch I started hiking down an open canyon which soon narrowed into a slot canyon. Eventually I arrived at a junction in the canyon, where this very narrow slot intersected the main canyon.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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.