“A Red Rock Canyon” — A rocky canyon filled with trees twists through the landscape of Capitol Reef National Park.

The photograph comes from a trip some years back that took me to Capitol Reef National Park. Although it was challenging to find the right composition, I wanted to get a photograph of this bend in an anonymous red rock canyon where trees were tucked into the edge of hollowed out rock. The feature is fascinating, but it is more or less unmarked, like so many similar features in this landscape…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/05/01/a-red-rock-canyon/

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“Tree, Sandstone Cliff” — A solitary juniper tree grows at the base of the sandstone cliff.

This photograph comes from a visit to Southern Utah with a couple of photographer friends some years ago. We took a week to make a loop through the southern part of the state that took in Cottonwood Canyon, the Escalante area, and a few days in the Capitol Reef neighborhood. That latter location is where I made this photograph of a juniper tree in front of a massive sandstone cliff face…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/04/26/tree-sandstone-cliff/

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“Autumn Cottonwood Tree” — Autumn cottonwood tree and sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park.

Although it has been more than a decade since I made this photograph (yes, another “lost and found” photo), I have distinct memories of the circumstances surrounding it. That fall I spent a few weeks exploring the Southern Utah landscape, from the backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante to several national parks. Sometimes I photographed alone, but along the way I met up with various friends, relatives, and photographers…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/04/09/autumn-cottonwood-tree/

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“Autumn Trees, Red Rock Cliff” — Cottonwood trees with fall foliage in front of a red rock cliff, Capitol Reef.

From what I’ve seen, the fall color season in Utah can be lengthy. On my visits I’ve seen the tail-end of aspen color at the beginning of October, implying that it peaks in late September. Out in red rock country the cottonwoods and oaks and other trees transition a bit later. And although I’ve never timed it quite right, I hear that great color is to be found in Zion Canyon in early November…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/04/05/autumn-trees-red-rock-cliff/

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“Red Rock Mountains, Autumn Foliage” — Fall foliage along a creek below red rock mountains, Capitol Reef National Park.

This photograph contains the quintessential color palette of the Southwest in general and this Utah landscape in particular: red rock, green trees (here starting to pick up the golden tones of autumn), blue sky, and brown water. I made the photograph while looking for scenes of non-iconic subjects at Capitol Reef…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/03/17/red-rock-mountains-autumn-foliage/

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“Utah Autumn Sky” — Early morning autumn sky at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

This is an example of what you can find when you focus on “the other stuff” — things other than the main subject that you came for. The spectacular and other-worldly summits of Capitol Reef lie out of sight behind my camera position, I turned my camera 180 degrees the other way to encompass this scene. We see a vast (mostly) sandstone Utah landscape, with lenticular clouds above and autumn cottonwood trees lining a stream in the bottom of the valley…more: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/02/14/utah-autumn-

#utah #capitolreef #photo #photography #photographer #photoOfTheDay #lensCulture #landscapePhotography #photographyLovers #naturePhotography #fineArtPhotographysky/

Autumn Foliage and Red Rock Cliffs
“Autumn Foliage and Red Rock Cliffs” — Red rock cliffs tower above early autumn color and a creek, Capitol Reef National Park.

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…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/04/autumn-foliage-and-red-rock-cliffs/

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“Capitol Reef” — Early morning view of the peaks of Capitol Reef from the east.

A friend and I met up in Capitol Reef National Park some years ago, and we spent a few days photographing in and around the park. We began accessible spots not far from our camp, but later we made a long drive down gravel roads to the east of the Capitol Reef ridge. I made this photograph shortly after a colorful sunrise on these summits…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/03/capitol-reef/

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