Tag Archives: park

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

Erosion Gullies, Waterpocket Fold

November 16, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Eroded gullies at the base of cliffs along the east side of the Waterpocket Fold Valley, Utah

The Waterpocket Fold is a huge geological feature of Utah that essentially defines Capitol Reef National Park, creating the deep valley along its east flank, the uplift that created the high ridge that runs the length of the park, and the many exposed edges of rock strata found all over the park. Its westward-trending uplift is also a reason why you may be challenged to get a traditional golden hour spectacular western sky photograph from along the west side of the park — the land continues to trend upward to the west there.

It is easy to overlook the feature if you are within the intimate landscape of many of the popular portions of the park, where you may be more attracted to washes and canyons and trees and nearby cliffs. But if you head down the east side of the park — on a long gravel road — the immensity of this feature becomes very obvious. This photograph was made from a high point in this part of the park, at a location that sits on the edge of this big valley and offers views to the north, east, and south. Here the view is straight across the valley toward the base of the tall ridge on the opposite side, below which there are steep gullies in the material that has eroded from the faces above, a bit of which is visible at the top of the frame.

And, yes, it is a double post day.

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

Sunrise, Capitol Reef

November 12, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dawn clouds about the peaks of Capitol Reef National Park

Finding sunrise light like this is a matter of getting up very early, making some decent pre-dawn guesses about what may happen later, finding a good location… and a whole bunch of plain dumb luck. Oh, and persistence helps, too — if you are out there a lot you will inevitably increase the odds that you’ll encounter the very special light. But no one can call up a small cloud centered above a ridge lit by first light that also turns the distant clouds shades of pink and purple.

Our primary plan on this day was to take a rather long drive down the east side of the park, though the ultimate goal was a bit fuzzy — it could have been a slot canyon I know of or it could have been a higher location that I had visited before. We started out in near darkness from our campsite, crossed the park, and then started south. As dawn approached, it was immediately obvious that the sky was just about to do something amazing, so we quickly found a spot with a panoramic view in most directions, stopped the car, grabbed cameras and tripods, and hurried to find compositions that might make use of this light. Since most of the interesting geological features seemed to be a good ways off, I put a very long lens on my camera and focused on small distant details. For a very brief moment, just as the first light began to gently wash over the high peaks of Capitol Reef, this intense color came to the clouds and one small cloud became visible against the lighter background.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Strata and Columns

November 11, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

For years I have passed by California’s Red Rock Canyon State Park on my way to or from other places, most often Death Valley National Park. My winter route between the San Francisco Bay Area and Death Valley almost inevitably takes me south over Tehachapi Pass and then north, where the highway cuts through this state park. Every time I have passed through I have marveled at the beautiful rock formations rising from the desert and thought about stopping… but kept driving, anxious either to get to DEVA or to get home after a long time on the road.

This time we made a plan to stop, booking a motel in a nearby town for the night to more or less force a stop. We made a fairly brief visit, but we did go this time. This visit, although brief, may have finally cracked the door open a bit to the idea of returning and photographing here again. Being unfamiliar with the park I cannot be sure, but I would guess that this formation may be one of its “icons.” It stands in an easily visited location and presents a striking appearance. It also seems to me to tell a bit of a story. One of the first things that got my attention is the way that its thick band of red rock tilts the opposite direction from the similar rock in the sculpted cliffs that stand behind it. It seems to me that this piece must have dropped off the face (probably with a big bang and lots of dust!), landed in the softer material at the base of the cliff, and momentarily leaned toward falling over to the right, but then managed to just keep its balance enough to be locked into this off-kilter tilted position.

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.

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

Forest, Granite Bowl

November 7, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on forests and a glaciated granite bowl, Yosemite National Park

Large slabs of nearly unbroken granite, left behind in the wake of ancient glaciers, are a prominent and characteristic feature of the high country of Yosemite National Park. There is granite all of the Sierra, but this granite often seems to me to be more intact, and rather than encountering fields of broken rock it is common to come across these beautiful structures of exfoliating granite, often still with areas of smooth and reflective glacial polish. Scattered trees have taken hold in surprisingly thin cracks.

This bowl is in such a characteristic place, in the bottom of a great river canyon, just where it begins to become narrower and steeper. The area clearly shows the effects of glaciation, from the smooth rock in the canyon bottom to the sculpted domes and faces above. I have photographed in this bowl before on several occasions, and despite shooting there many times I continue to find new ways to see it every time I visit.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: park

Erosion Gullies, Waterpocket Fold

Sunrise, Capitol Reef

Strata and Columns

Forest, Granite Bowl

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