Tag Archives: trees

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

Autumn Foliage and Red Rock Cliffs

Image January 4, 2026 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

It took me several visits to get a feel for Capitol Reef National Park. The appeal of the beautiful sandstone towers, cliffs, and mountains is undeniable, but at first the park seemed sort of… small to me. As I learned more about this part, I think I see why that is and understand that it may be something of a conscious decision. The casual visitor arrives on a road that passes across the narrow width of the park, and then they visit the area around Fruita and one visitor road that enters the park from there. That doesn’t cover a lot of ground.

But much (most, by far) of this park is off the beaten path. It is accessible by vehicle, but only on long gravel roads, some of which involve challenges such as stream crossings. And the areas at the ends of those drives are relatively undeveloped. You are on your own out there, and I think that it intentional… and I approve.

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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: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline and Trees, Morning

Image December 26, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This will be one of (but perhaps not quite the) last photographs I’ll share for now from my July backpack trip. A group of us went into the Eastern Sierra Nevada just outside of the northeast boundary of Yosemite National Park. sWe did a low-mileage four-day trip, which left me with plenty of morning and evening time for photography. But even with two mornings and two evenings in this particular spot I didn’t have all of the time that I could have used.

I have visited this area many times over the years, so I had some ideas about what I might photograph. This raised shoreline area, located between the lake and large meadow below it, was on my short list. I got distracted by other subjects on the first morning and missed the brief moment of ideal light when the shoreline is highlighted and the background remains in shadow. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again on the second morning, so I was there and ready when the light arrived.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Cedar Breaks

Image December 23, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cedar Breaks seems to me a bit of an odd spot. It sits on the edge of a high ridge in Utah just south of the Brian Head ski area. While it is spectacular, it is small, and and out of the way, and I think that it gets a bit lost by comparison to the other iconic parks of the state. In fact, it wasn’t a primary destination for us either — it was near a convenient place to spend a few nights on our way between California and points east of here.

But what it lacks in size and fame, it makes up for in spectacular features. A gigantic west-facing gash cuts into the summit of a high plateau. (The difference between that gentle plateau and this feature is remarkable.) Rather than the gigantic solid masses of sandstone found in places like Zion, Capitol Reef, and Arches, here the terrain is softer and the strata seem thinner, giving it a very different character.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Forest, Fog

Image December 18, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Recently it has been very foggy across great swaths of the California landscape. Tule (or radiation) fog has turned the Central Valley cold and gray for weeks. At times the fog has spilled through the delta and over mountain passes into the San Francisco Bay Area. On one such day I decided to head to nearby woods to see what I could photograph.

I ended up on a narrow road heading into the hills, a road that I have known for decades — though I don’t believe I have ever photographed there before. At the head of a narrow canyon, just before the road ascended steeply to rise above the fog, I stopped to photograph this autumn scene. A few trees leaned this way and that, fog muted the light, and autumn leaves were everywhere.