Tag Archives: sandstone

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

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees

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Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees - Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park
Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees. Zion National Park, Utah. October 22, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park

Yes, I’m still working that vein of October 2012 Utah photographs! This one came from a productive day, though it wasn’t an easy one, during which we spent a lot of time along the Mount Carmel Highway that passes through the high country of the park, looking for fall color and juxtapositions of light and rock and trees.

This rough terrain varies in its susceptibility to being photographed as the light changes. Areas that might be muted while in shadow can become highlighted and separated from background terrain when the sun strikes them. On the other hand, certain subjects such as fall foliage may be almost impossible to photograph in direct light, but when they fall into shadows the soft and diffuse light can change them. This photograph combines the shadows and the direct light, with the sun lighting a few trees, especially those at the top of the foreground red rock, and letting them stand out against the background terrain that is in the shadows.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Utah Juniper, Sandstone Cliff

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Utah Juniper, Sandstone Cliff
Utah Juniper, Sandstone Cliff

Utah Juniper, Sandstone Cliff. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A single Utah juniper tree in front of a sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

Shooting in this area of Capitol Reef National Park was a bit of a late-day whim. There had a been a bit of a slowing down of the photography earlier that day, and we almost felt a bit obligated to get out and do more photography in the evening. Hey, it happens! Feeling a bit less than inspired and with no specific goal in mind, we headed over to Capitol Reef and looked around, at first perhaps without a lot of enthusiasm. If you are a typical photographer, you have probably had such a day – the light doesn’t seem great, there are unfixable challenges with the location, and you just aren’t “seeing” it.

Eventually I thought it would at least be worthwhile to head up into a nearby canyon that I had visited before. We got out and prepared to walk up the canyon a ways. Before we did so, I saws this tree at the top of gravel hill at the base of the vertical sandstone cliffs and recalled that I had been interested in it when I have visited this spot once before. By now it was pretty late in the day, and the light shining through the thin overcast was bouncing off of canyon walls behind me and gently reflecting towards the wall behind this tree.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Sandstone Tower, Fruita District

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Sandstone Tower, Fruita District
Sandstone Tower, Fruita District

Sandstone Tower, Fruita District. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 8, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sandstone tower stands above the Fruita District orchards in early evening light, Capitol Reef National Park

These sandstone plateaus and mesas seem characteristic of this front-country area of Capitol Reef National Park, and they are perhaps the most striking visual icon of your approach to the park from the town of Torrey, Utah, to the west. The Fruita District is the most accessible area of the park, being right alongside the main east-west highway that passes through the park. It features some picturesque sites and sights that are enough to make almost anyone pull over and look, including the old orchards that apparently gave the area its name and the accessible petroglyphs on low cliffs that run along the road. (Although this portion of the park is quite accessible once you are out here and driving across Utah, most of the park is anything but easily accessible, and getting to other places within its boundaries can involve some very long drives on some fairly bad roads, plus some hiking. I’m fine with that! ;-)

I made this photograph late in the day, after we had done a bit of exploring along the main tourist route into the park, the largely paved road towards Capitol Gorge and other nearby points. Late in the day I happened to spot this little conjunction of creek and fall-color tree and green grass and red rock cliffs as we were about to leave the park.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park

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Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park
Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park

Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park. Arches National Park, Utah. October 11, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ridges and mesas recede into the distance beyond Fiery Furnace formations, Arches National Park.

These formations are part of a much larger set of similar structures along the road toward the Devil’s Garden area of Arches National Park. They overlook a large section of the park and beyond. The distant plateau in the sunlight is along the Colorado River, and though they are not visible in this photograph the La Sal Mountains tower even further off. Between there is a lot of rough country full of valleys and ridges and other formations.

The Fiery Furnace area contains sandstone with layers of contrasting color, as see here. This material has been eroded it all sorts of fantastical ways. On this particular day, the light conditions were both interesting and challenging. There were quite a few high clouds and a good portion of the time the sun was blocked by them and the light was somewhat dismal. But as the clouds moved along, the sun light occasionally broke through gaps and cast beams of light that traversed the landscape. When we first stopped here and saw the overcast conditions I almost decided to just move on. But I saw a few hints of this changeable light and decided to try patience first! It took a while, but eventually some of the clear areas in the overcast lined up with our position and we had moments of nice light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.