Tag Archives: utah

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

Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash

Leave a comment
Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash
A singleleaf ash tree stretches across red sandstone wall, Utah

Sandstone and Singleleaf Ash. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. October 28, 2010. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A singleleaf ash tree stretches across red sandstone wall, Utah

I love the stunning sandstone landscapes of Southern Utah — a world of canyons intimate or huge, smooth red sandstone walls, the force of water, juniper trees, flatlands and mountains, and the thought-provoking presence of people who lived here before we came. When I return to my California landscapes from Utah they always seem a bit… gray. I made this photograph on a visit a bit more than four years ago, when I joined several photographer friends to explore places from Zion National Park to Capitol Reef National Park, spending time in some of the stunning national monument lands in between. I made this photograph in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a place that surely is deserving of national park status.

Back in 2012 during this visit, I thought about how my country had the foresight to protect such quintessential American landscapes and hold them in trust for all Americans today and long into the future. It did not even cross my mind that they might soon again be in danger. But they are, including this very place, now described by self-serving politicians intent on taking the land that we own and giving it away to private interests as being “places where no one goes” or places that are just empty desert. This is, of course, nonsense and only a liar or worse could make such a claim with a straight face. Once again, it appears that it will be time to have to try to re-save these places.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

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

Fractured Sandstone Cliff

Leave a comment
Fractured Sandstone Cliff
A fractured sandstone cliff and fallen boulders

Fractured Sandstone Cliff. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fractured sandstone cliff and fallen boulders

A few years back a small group of us spent time photographing in southern Utah, from Capitol Reef National Park to the east to Zion National Park to the west and at points in between. The day when I made this photograph began very early in sub-freezing conditions, walking out on a route along a remote ridge. But we ended that day back in a more civilized location, at a canyon with tall sandstone walls, in places forming abrupt cliffs and in other areas being fractured and covered with some amount of vegetation.

We came to this section just after sunset, which comes a bit early in this spot since the terrain to the west of the part tilts gradually upwards. The spot where we photographed is along a gravel road, and on both sides it is lined with monumental sandstone cliffs that are fundamentally smooth and blocky. However, even such cliffs erode, and here the process is laid bare. Huge vertical slabs are separating from the walls and leaning away, and the bases of the cliffs are filled with broken material topped with giant boulders.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

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

Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs

Leave a comment
Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs
Massive sandstone cliffs tower above a single juniper tree among boulders

Juniper, Massive Sandstone Cliffs. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. October 26, 2012. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Massive sandstone cliffs tower above a single juniper tree among boulders

In the early evening, after a full day of photography that had begun in sub-freezing temperatures atop a remote ridge in Capitol Reef National Park, we found ourselves back in the more civilized regions, in a canyon served by a well-used road where a parking lot marked the jumping off point for trails that extended beyond the road end. We photographed here for a while, and as the canyon light faded we wandered back to our vehicle and loaded up to depart.

As we exited the mouth of the canyon and the terrain opened up, soft and subtle evening light glowed on the massive cliffs above. We had thought we were finished for the day, but we quickly reconsidered, pulling over and jumping out to retrieve cameras and tripods and find places from which to photograph in the diminishing light. I was intrigued by these huge, reddish blocks of sandstone standing against the base of a cliff of lighter rock, with a single juniper tree growing amongst the boulders.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

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

Juniper, Sage, and Red Rock

Leave a comment
Juniper, Sage, and Red Rock
A juniper tree stands amidst broken red rock terrain in light reflected from nearby sandstone cliffs

Juniper, Sage, and Red Rock. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A juniper tree stands amidst broken red rock terrain in light reflected from nearby sandstone cliffs

This photograph includes a number of the characteristic features of this southern Utah Landscape: a solitary juniper tree growing from rocky terrain, sage brush and other brushy plants, the textured red rock, and the intensified color from light bouncing from other red rock cliffs nearby. Here, too, is a bit of rock left from a layer of lighter rock — in this area of Capitol Reef National Park steeply tilted strata place such diverse rocks together in surprising places.

This spot is high on a ridge in a less accessible part of Capitol Reef National Park. This park seems like a bit of an oddity in some ways. If you drive through it probably seems tiny, since the road cuts across it narrow east-west dimension, but the park stretches a good distance north and south. The accessible attractions are very appealing, but most of them lie a short distance from the highway, and to get to the more remote areas of the park you are likely going to have to drive a good distance on some less “civilized” roads and then get out and walk. The area where I made the photograph is such a place. While getting their doesn’t require a major expedition, it is far enough away from the main road that the number of visitors is small and silence and solitude are plentiful.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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