Tag Archives: sandstone

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

Tree and Shadow’s Edge

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Tree and Shadow's Edge
A border between light and shadow moves across a tree at the base of a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Tree and Shadow’s Edge. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A border between light and shadow moves across a tree at the base of a sandstone cliff, Zion National Park.

Sometimes (oh, heck, often) photographs come about in somewhat unsuspected ways, and this is such a photograph. In October we were in Southern Utah and we had previously spent a day photographing in Zion Canyon. The general plan on this day was to photograph along Mt. Carmel Highway in the morning (which we did), grab some coffee and food beyond the park, and then, well, we weren’t quite sure. The day evolved organically and we ended up on some interesting Utah backroads crossing some surprisingly snowy highland before we eventually ended up in Cedar City. We gassed up the vehicle and realized that we had time for a quick side trip into Kolob Canyon on our way back toward our eventual destination.

I’ve been in the less-visited and less-developed section of Zion National Park several times. In addition to being a jumping off point for lots of interesting trails, it presents some landscapes opportunities that are quite different from those of the more familiar Zion Canyon. I’ve usually been there earlier in the day, so it was fascinating to observe the place in late-day light. Much of this landscape is huge, even “epic” in scale, but as I scanned it I started to see smaller vignettes that seemed interesting. In particular, I noticed that this shadow was moving from left to right and gradually lighting the prominent tree in the center of the scene, casting its shadow on the brightly-lit sandstone behind it.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon

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Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon
An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

There are at least two stories behind this photograph — maybe more. The first one involves a situation familiar to many photographers. When we go into these places carrying a backpack of gear, with a big camera on a tripod hanging over our shoulder, we aren’t exactly in stealth mode. And because lots of people in such places are trying to figure out how to make photographs to record their wonder… sometimes our presence draws them in our direction. I had wandered over to the bank of the Virgin River to photograph something and, sure enough, lots of other folks started showing up in what had been a pretty empty spot. I finished photographing there and headed back toward where I came from, looked back, and saw this big old tree towering above and decided it was worth a photograph. But now there were a few dozen people among those trees!

I made a mental note to remember the tree and come back to it later on as I continued up the canyon. When I did return the crowd had departed and I was able to get the scene I wanted. I’m generally not big on shooting with wide angle lenses, often preferring to limit the composition by using longer lenses and their narrower angle-of-view. But in the confines of a red rock canyon, a large tree like this cottonwood often towers above you, even if you have some space to move back. These big, old cottonwood trees fascinate me, and their varieties of form and setting seem almost infinite.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Oak Tree, Red Rock

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Oak Tree, Red Rock
A twisting oak tree beneath red rock towers, Zion National Park.

Oak Tree, Red Rock. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A twisting oak tree beneath red rock towers, Zion National Park.

The title simplifies the content of this scene — there are actually several kinds of trees here, and the contrast between the lighter trunk of the foreground tree and the dark shape of the more distant tree is part of what attracted me to this scene. Other elements included the twisting shapes of the trees and the contrast between the bright green of the leaves (which are close to beginning their autumn color transition) and the red Utah sandstone.

The nature of light is almost always a key factor in photography, but it plays out in very special ways in the red rock canyons of the Southwest. As I have written previously, the typical photographers’ schedule (shoot very early and rather late) is upended in canyons. We often try to find the softer and warmer light of the very early and late hours of the day, but in these canyons the tall walls often keep the subjects in the soft shadow light much of the day, and direct sunlight reflected off the canyon walls can provide that warm color to the light. (To those used to having a midday break between morning and evening photography, this can be exhausting!) This photograph was made during those essentially middle-of-the-day hours, and the soft light illuminates and colors the scene.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Towers and Shadows, Sunrise

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Towers and Shadows, Sunrise
Red rock towers cast shadows on a cliff face in sunrise light, Zion National Park.

Towers and Shadows, Sunrise. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red rock towers cast shadows on a cliff face in sunrise light, Zion National Park.

We have not visited Utah since before the 2016 election. I love Utah’s diverse and beautiful landscape, but once the state joined in the process of dismantling public lands I felt that the ethical — though painful — choice was to stay away until things were once again set right. Earlier this month we made it back and I can report that the state is as beautiful as it was before… and that I’m very glad to have been able to return. To a Californian, used to the mostly-gray landscapes of my beloved Sierra Nevada, the technicolor landscape of Utah is a revelation.

This photograph is another intuit combines planning and dumb luck. We got up a bit later on this morning. There was no need to catch the first shuttle into the canyon since our plan was to drive to higher country. This particular subject was on my list of sunrise possibilities, but when we arrived at the spot where I thought I could set up I could not find a place to pull over. That turned out to be good luck, as a few minutes later I figured out that a more elevated perspective was possible a bit further up the road. We found a place to pull over just. before the sun/shadow line reached the pinnacles, and I worked quickly to set up as the light continued to descend. I made a series of exposures starting with the first glimmer of direct light on the highest tower, and then I kept photographing as the light moved lower on the face, projecting the shadows of the ledge and towers on the cliff wall.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.