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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/

#capitolreef #nationalpark #southwest #utah #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #photography

“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/

#capitolreef #utah #southwest #nationalpark #nature #landscape #landscapehphotography #photo

Capitol Reef National Park Aerial

I love exploring the Southwest from a plane. The colors and patterns offer a way different view than from on land.

It took me a while to realize

https://thecareyadventures.com/blog/capitol-reef-national-park-aerial/

#AerialPhoto #NationalPark #NorthAmerica #OddInterestingAwesome #PhotoOfTheDay #USA #Utah #CapitolReef #CapitolReefNationalPark #CommercialFlight #Fruita #geology #mountains #NationalPark #PhotoOfTheDay #travel #USA #Utah #WindowSeat

A single sunbeam breaking across red rock — quiet, subtle, and full of desert breath.
A Wyeth-inspired matte take on Capitol Reef light.
Printed best on matte metal or fine-art cotton rag.
#UtahPhotography #CapitolReef #SouthwestLandscape #FineArtLandscape #PainterlyPhotography #WesternArt #DesertLight #AmericanWest #LandscapeCollectors #AndrewWyethInspired #NatureFineArt

“Cottonwood Trunks, Autumn” — Twisting and bending cottonwood trees with autumn foliage, Capitol Reef National Park.

About a decade ago I took a long autumn photography trip to Southern Utah. I started in Kanab, then headed up to Capitol Reef before backtracking to Grand Staircase-Escalante, making a quick visit to Boulder and then visiting Zion. Whew! This holograph comes from my visit to Capitol Reef, where I met up with a photographer-friend to spend a few days poking around and making photographs…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/11/02/cottonwood-trunks-autumn/

#autumn #fall #southwest #capitolreef #nationalpark #nature #photo #landscape #landscapephotography #photography

“Utah Backroad” — A Utah backroad ascends into a steep canyon at Capitol Reef National Park.

This track turns off from another gravel backcountry road and then winds its way into the high sandstone mountains of Capitol Reef National Park. There are roads like this all over Utah, and they lead to some incredible country. This one is in a national park, but many are not — yet they traverse country that would be worthy of such a designation. Fortunately the rough (sometimes very rough) routes minimize tourist impact…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/10/29/utah-backroad/

#capitolreef #nationalpark #utah #landscape #landscapephotography #photo #photography
#nature

Whenever someone asks me for #CapitolReef recommendations for front country hikes, the Chimney Rock trail is always at the top of my list. It's not too challenging with ~250m total elevation, it's relatively quiet compared to Hickman Bridge, Cassidy Arch and some of the other trails along the scenic drive. But the main reason I love it is the variety of scenery. I just hiked it for the umpteenth time and it's always a treat. Pictures don't do it justice. My fav afternoon exercise!

“Sandstone Cliff Detail” — A section of a sandstone cliff face featuring fracturing, strata, exfoliation, and water markings.

The textures, forms, colors, and patterns found in Utah sandstone walls amaze me. They can be so complex that I sometimes imagine that I see things like writing or images, but patterns formed naturally over the millennia. Here we can see layering at more than one angle, marks left by dripping and flowing water, the effects of exfoliation, and more…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/10/27/sandstone-cliff-detail/

#capitolreef #sandstone #southwest #geology #nationalpark #utah #nature #landscapephotography #landscape #photography

Capitol Reef 2017

https://makertube.net/w/padEGYR7YoDfSkFRf3KKLe

“Utah Morning Sky” — A cloud-filled dawn sky aboe Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Back in 2014 a friend and I met up at Capitol Reef National Park for a few days of photography. I was on a long trip, first shooting in Southern Utah alone before we joined up at Capitol Reef. (Afterward I met other friends at Grand Staircase-Escalante, made a quick visit to Boulder, and eventually joined my family at Zion.) I made this photograph early in the morning on the day we headed into the back country along Notom Bullfrog Road…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/10/09/utah-morning-sky/

#utah #capitolreef #nationalpark #sky #nature #landscapephotography #southwest #photography