Tag Archives: shadow

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

Light on Red Rock

Image Leave a comment
Light on Red Rock
Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

Light on Red Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandstone formations in sunlight, Arches National Park.

As I have waded through my 2012 archive of raw images from Utah, made during two autumn trips to the southern part of the state that lasted nearly a full month in total, I am again reminded to the incredibly diverse ways in which the ubiquitous sandstone can be seen. Sometimes, in stark light, the colors are not that striking. In the depths of canyons they can be unbelievably intense. In dawn and sunset light they can become so saturated as to be nearly unbelievable. In shade they can be tinged with blue. And on it goes…

I made this photograph in “normal” daytime light, in a place where the sun beats down without obstruction. I don’t recall for sure now, but judging by the reasonable light levels of the highlights, it may have been a bit overcast. In this location the rock tends to organize into “fins” and fin-like formations, with long walls that are tall and parallel to one another. The nearly overhead light created shadows on the side of the rocks facing me, but each face was also subtly lit by reflections.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

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

Red Rock Detail

Image Leave a comment
Red Rock Detail
A section of sandstone cliff, Arches National Park.

Red Rock Detail. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A section of sandstone cliff, Arches National Park.

There is a story about my first visit to Arches National Park that we like to recount. (Perhaps you have heard it?) It derives from a habit of mine of not doing too much research before visiting a new location — I prefer to let some things remain a mystery so that I can have the joy of “discovering” the place for myself. That was the case on our first visit to Arches. I really didn’t know anything more than that there were (duh!) some archest there and that it was a national park. We arrived in Moab in the early afternoon, and finding ourselves with more time that day than expected we decided to make a quick first visit. A reliable source reports that I pretty much lost my composure upon “discovering” this collection of towers, arches, cliffs, and more.

This photograph comes from our second visit, a few years later and during a different season. By now we knew a bit more about what to expect, and I arranged to be in a particular spot early in the morning with the prospect of photographing dawn light on sandstone features. I made quite a few photographs that morning, but this one is an example of my interest in using long lenses to photograph small details of the landscape.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cloud Shadows and Fog

Image Leave a comment
Cloud Shadows and Fog
Cloud shadows on the surface of the Pacific Ocean off of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Cloud Shadows and Fog. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cloud shadow on the surface of the Pacific Ocean off of Point Reyes National Seashore.

This is a rather subtle landscape or seascape photograph, perhaps to the point of minimalism. I made it on a foggy afternoon along the interior of Drakes Bay at the Point Reyes National Seashore. The fog had thinned a bit by this time, but it was obstinate enough that it had not lifted even in the afternoon. Some light was coming though the cloud deck but it was extremely diffused — though it had enough directionality and the fog enough luminosity to lay a subtle shadow across the water below a thicker line of clouds.

Days like this one are slow, quiet, and mysterious along the Pacific Coast. The scale of the landscape diminishes to some extend and the “clear to the horizon” views are gone, as is the dome of the sky. From high locations such as the one from which I made the photograph, even the sound of the surf is muted.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes, Mountains, Footprints

Image Leave a comment
Dunes, Mountains, Footprints
Footprints of previoius visitors cross sand dunes beneath desert mountains.

Dunes, Mountains, Footprints. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Footprints of previoius visitors cross sand dunes beneath desert mountains.

If I had my druthers I suppose that I would have preferred dunes that were untracked, but that was not the case. So here, I think, the footprints of those who visited before me may be interesting in their own way as they trace the paths that those people followed — across the foreground dune, up the face of steeper sections, and along the highest ridges.

My visit on this occasion was brief. After spending nearly a week on the road I decided to make my final night in this park be in the far backcountry, so I drove to a location that was interesting on its own account and which gave access to an alternative route out of the park. I had an afternoon, a night, and a morning here before I headed over to the east side of the Sierra and started home.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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