Tag Archives: rock

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

Capitol Reef

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Capitol Reef
“Capitol Reef” — Early morning view of the peaks of Capitol Reef from the east.

A friend and I met up in Capitol Reef National Park some years ago, and we spent a few days photographing in and around the park. We began accessible spots not far from our camp, but later we made a long drive down gravel roads to the east of the Capitol Reef ridge. I made this photograph shortly after a colorful sunrise on these summits.

That sunrise photograph, which I’ve shared previously, was focused on the area behind my camera position for this photograph. The sky colors are wonderful, but I also like the darker and somewhat more foreboding quality of this sky that has lost the dawn 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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape

Canyon Hikers

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Canyon Hikers
“Canyon Hikers” — Two hikers walk along a desert wash between high walls in a Death Valley canyon.

It seems to me that when most people think of Death Valley National Park, the first things that come to mind are familiar desert icons, the sand dunes, with features like salt flats close behind. But the park is remarkably diverse, with other features that would surprise those who don’t know of them. Among them are the park’s canyons, some of which — like this one — feature extremely high walls.

The weather often dictates what we do on any given Death Valley day. On this one we had clouds building towards evening rain, so the light on grand landscape subjects was not especially great. So we decided to visit a canyon or two. This one is fairly accessible so we were most certainly not alone. but at times the other visitors disappeared behind curves in the canyon. I decided to include these two hikers in order to illustrate the size of the canyon.

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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: Arizona, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest

Monument Valley Squall

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Monument Valley Squall
“Monument Valley Squall” — A passing rain squall mutes the view of buttes and ridges at Monument Valley.

This was a spectacular day in Northern Arizona. We were most of the way through a visit of several weeks to Southern Utah, and we had departed Moab that morning. Our plan was to go back via the route through northern Arizona and make it to Springdale, Utah by the end of the day. As we left Utah and started west across Arizona there were spectacular clouds and intermittent heavy showers.

As we approached this area, with its famous buttes, spires, and towers, a heavy shower passed between us that the distant scenery. At first I was disappointed, as it obscured the clear view I was expecting. But in the end, I think that this curtain or rain produced a sense of mystery that is not so present in a typical sharp and clear photograph.

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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

Sandstone, Light and Shadow

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Sandstone, Light and Shadow
“Sandstone, Light and Shadow” — Early morning sunlight accentates the color of a Utah sandstone cliff.

The idea here was to get “up close and personal” with a small section of a monumental sandstone tower standing in the early morning sunlight. To make the photograph I turned away from the conventional scenic landscape I had been focusing on, using a long lens to focus on an area where features projecting from the wall were casting shadows back onto it.

Southwest sandstone is often impressive simply because of its color variation. I’ve commented before on how “my” California granite inevitably looks very… gray after I return from a visit to Utah. But in some places, such as here at Arches National Park, it isn’t just that the sandstone’s coloration is attractive, it is also that the strata of red rock are so thick and extensive.

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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.