Tag Archives: usa north

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Basalt Columns

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Basalt Columns
Basalt columns at Devil’s Postpile National Monument.

Basalt Columns. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Basalt columns at Devil’s Postpile National Monument.

The existence of this photograph can be credited to two women. The first is my wife Patricia Mitchell. We were in the Eastern Sierra in a the autumn a few years ago to photograph fall colors. On this morning we were supposed to get up early and go photograph aspens, but we were lazy — we slept in and enjoyed breakfast, which is not the typical photographer’s ritual. Devil’s Postpile seemed like a potential option for photography a bit later in the morning, so that’s where we went. Arriving, I wasn’t so sure — there were crowds and the early light was gone — and initially I was going to leave my camera behind and just walk over and take a look… but “someone” urged me to bring the camera gear along just in case.

The second woman who played an (unknown to her) role in the appearance of this photograph is friend and photographer Franka Mlikota Gabler. She recently shared a set of lovely photographs of this location, and these photographs got me thinking about my one visit to the place… and inspired me to back into the raw file archive, where I found this photograph from that lazy morning when I almost left my camera behind.

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Sandstone Cliff, Morning Light

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Sandstone Cliff, Morning Light
Detail, sandstone cliff in morning light, Arches National Park.

Sandstone Cliff, Morning Light. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail, sandstone cliff in morning light, Arches National Park.

While I often refer to this part of the world as “red rock country,” in truth the rock is rarely actually red, and its coloration changes radically depending on when and where you see it. In deep canyons it can become, in objective terms, almost purple. At sunset or sunrise it edges far into the warm portion of the spectrum, varying on gold, orange, or yellow. In flat light the intensity of the color diminishes. In some places colors on the surface of the rock are striking — either from material that coats it or the variations between old and new sections.

As I work on photographs I often have several open on my computer at once, with some of them staring back at me for weeks as I put off final decisions about how to interpret them. Recently there have been mostly photographs of this red rock country, and looking at those together has reinforced just how varied these colors are. This section of a cliff face at Arches National Park was photographed in very early morning light that shone at a low angle almost directly onto the the rock, and this light reveals details of the face that might not otherwise be seen with such clarity.

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.

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

Dunes, Mountains, Footprints

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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.

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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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflected Granite Bench

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Reflected Granite Bench
Soft light on a granite bench and its reflection in a wilderness lake, Kings Canyon National Park

Reflected Granite Bench. Kings Canyon National Park. September 15, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft light on a granite bench and its reflection in a wilderness lake, Kings Canyon National Park

It is hard to believe that three years have passed since this beautiful trip into the Kings Canyon National Park back-country. Four of us schlepped — or more correctly, were schlepped — into a beautiful spot off the main trails where we had the better part of a week to slowly take in beautiful alpine scenery and make photographs.

This was a base-camp photography trip, where we camped in one location and each day wandered out through the spectacular surroundings looking for photographs. Over the time we were there we conditions ranging from typical Sierra sun to rain and rainbows. I made this photograph not far from our camp, and at a time of day before the sun had risen high enough to shine direct light on us — so the water was still, the light was soft.

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