McGee Creek Pack Station, Autumn Snow Storm. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Snow flurries from an early autumn storm mask the high peaks above the McGee Creek Pack Station in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.
When I’m driving back from the Bishop area I often make a few odd stops at special little places along highway 395 at which I think I might find something special, and the McGee Creek Canyon is one of these places. The canyon is just a short drive above the north-south highway, and in the right conditions it can provide really wonderful scenes – the aspens that grow along the road to the canyon, the views back into and across the valley to peaks beyond, intimate scenes of high desert rocks and vegetation, and from the road end up the steep-sided canyon toward the alpine headwalls of the canyon.
On this early October 2009 day I was returning from shooting near Bishop Creek in light snow and thought I might get some interesting views of aspen color (which didn’t really happen) and the view up McGee Canyon, so I turned off of 395 and headed on up. From previous visits I knew of this specific view from along the gravel road right above the pack station, so I already had it in mind as I arrived. When I saw the cloud-shrouded peaks at the end of the canyon and the foreground light I quickly stopped and set up. The cloud shadows were moving quickly and, unfortunately, heading my direction so I had to work very quickly – and I had just enough time to make this one exposure with the light on the area around the pack station before the light was gone.
This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell
keywords: mcgee, creek, canyon, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, crest, peak, alpine, corral, horse, fence, road, forest, sage, brush, light, sun, shadow, frame, snow, flurry, dusting, season, autumn, fall, eastern, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, pack, animal, stock, california, usa, stock, black and white
Hi Rosemary:
This is a spectacular location, isn’t it! It seems like one of those places where the distance between high desert (and the old lateral moraine path) to the peaks is very short and very steep, especially once you get up into the canyon near the pack station. And though you can’t see it in the BW photo, the upper end of the valley is blanketed with fall colors.
Composing this shot – and this isn’t the first time I’ve worked on it – poses a bit of a challenge. The location is right on the gravel road before the pack station, and it is hard to get the pack station IN the frame and keep the road OUT while lining everything up in a pleasing way. At some point I may even try a composition that includes the road.
Dan
I’ve taken this photo of this scene from a lower vantage point. I like the higher view point you have here. Beautiful black and white.