Tag Archives: two

Two Trees, Stone Wall

Two Trees, Stone Wall
“Two Trees, Stone Wall” — Two old trees stand in front of a stone wall, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

While on the Isle of Skye this past May we stayed at an out-of-the-way lodge a few miles out on a gravel single track road along Loch Snizort Beag. We may have thought that we were at the ends of the earth when we first turned off the main road onto that track, but we came to appreciate the isolation, the views… and the sheep. They filled the pastures along the road and occasionally entered the roadway itself.

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Two Towers

Two Towers
“Two Towers” — Two backlit sandstone towers, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Stopping to photograph these formations was almost an afterthought. We had been far down a remote road in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument photographing even more obscure locations, and we were headed back towards Escalante. Not being familiar with this area back then, I was surprised when we stopped here along the way, but then this little red rock garden began to attract me.

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Islands, Fog

Islands, Fog
“Islands, Fog” — Two small reed-covered wetlands islands in thick winter tule fog.

At times I like to make photographs that contain as little detail as possible, photographs that might suggest more than they tell. The most distinct feature in this scene is the darker island at the left. Beyond that we see (barely) one more island and then nothing. Any further detail is masked by the thick Central Valley tule fog.

It was a remarkably foggy day. I drove over there from my home about two hours away, and the last half hour or so of the drive was in fog so thick I could barely see the roadway. I had initially hoped that I might get a bit of sunrise color and then a late-morning clearing, but neither happened. If anything, the fog got thicker after noon!


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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.

Canyon Hikers

Canyon Hikers
“Canyon Hikers” — Two hikers walk along a desert wash between high walls in a Death Valley canyon.

It seems to me that when most people think of Death Valley National Park, the first things that come to mind are familiar desert icons, the sand dunes, with features like salt flats close behind. But the park is remarkably diverse, with other features that would surprise those who don’t know of them. Among them are the park’s canyons, some of which — like this one — feature extremely high walls.

The weather often dictates what we do on any given Death Valley day. On this one we had clouds building towards evening rain, so the light on grand landscape subjects was not especially great. So we decided to visit a canyon or two. This one is fairly accessible so we were most certainly not alone. but at times the other visitors disappeared behind curves in the canyon. I decided to include these two hikers in order to illustrate the size of the canyon.


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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.