Tag Archives: sandstone

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Cottonwood Tree

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Autumn Cottonwood Tree
“Autumn Cottonwood Tree” — A small cottonwood tree with autumn foliage next to a sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park.

Although it has been more than a decade since I made this photograph (yes, another “lost and found” photo), I have distinct memories of the circumstances surrounding it. That fall I spent a few weeks exploring the Southern Utah landscape, from the backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante to several national parks. Sometimes I photographed alone, but along the way I met up with various friends, relatives, and photographers.

A photographer friend and I camped for several days at Capitol Reef National Park. We explored areas near the campground. (Yes, we tried the pie…) But one day we took a longer trip into the park’s backcountry. At the end of the day we returned to the campground, and just before we arrived we stopped to photograph these autumn trees against a red rock wall.

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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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff

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Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff
“Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff” — Cottonwood trees with fall foliage in front of a red rock cliff, Capitol Reef.

From what I’ve seen, the fall color season in Utah can be lengthy. On my visits I’ve seen the tail-end of aspen color at the beginning of October, implying that it peaks in late September. Out in red rock country the cottonwoods and oaks and other trees transition a bit later. And although I’ve never timed it quite right, I hear that great color is to be found in Zion Canyon in early November.

We stopped to photograph these trees in Capitol Reef National Park on our drive back to camp from a day of photographing in a remote region of the park. It was late afternoon and the light was not going to last a lot longer, so we pulled over a short distance from our campground and worked with these trees growing right in front of a sandstone cliff.

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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 and Trees

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Sandstone and Trees
“Sandstone and Trees” — Scattered trees find footholds in cracks in the weathering sandstone, Zion National Park.

Except for one element, you could find a similar scene in California’s Sierra Nevada. That one element? The intense coloration of the Utah sandstone red rock formations. The contrast between the green trees and the red sandstone is striking, as is the complexity of the geology —with strata and layers intersecting and exfoliation gradually removing the topmost layers.

I photographed this scene some years ago on a visit to Zion National park. These colors and textures provide a visual playground for photographers. And sometimes wildlife even joins in the fun — on one occasion I photographed big horn sheep on nearby slopes.

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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

Trees On Sandstone Cliff

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Trees on Sandstone Cliff
”Trees on Sandstone Cliff ” — Two small trees grow from cracks in a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Today I am sharing yet another “lost and found” photograph, again from a decade-ago visit to Utah and, in this case, Zion National Park. (“Lost and found” photographs disappeared into my raw file archives, only to be rediscovered years later.) This one features a bit of vegetation, including some with developing fall color, growing in the cracks of a sandstone cliff.

I am impressed by how little some trees need to make a success of it. In the Sierra Nevada I have seen beautiful little trees growing on little more than a shallow bowl in the granite holding a few hands full of soil. Here the trees are growing in cracks in the solid sandstone, and must have little or no actual soil to nourish them.

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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.