Pond with Boulders and Trees. Yosemite National Park, California. July 28, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A small pond reflects trees and glaciated boulders, Yosemite National Park.
This is a little location that I’ve returned to since I first discovered it a few years ago when I made a random stop along Tioga Pass Road to photograph some fog, looked away from the road, and saw a faint trail leading off into a little valley that looked to be full of rocks. Later I returned and wandered out on the trail and discovered a surprising landscape with glaciated granite, small pools, open forest, and small meadows. The first time I photographed there I had little time, so it ended up being more of a scouting visit than a shoot. However, this summer I planned to reserve part of a morning to wander back up this trail during the time when the light would still be good.
The pools here are almost completely still. The water is flowing, but not much, especially in the small granite rimmed pools like this one. The light was just barely beginning to filter down through the trees, so I had to be a bit careful to avoid hot spots where the sun shone. I’d share where this spot is, except that if you think about what you are passing as you drive along Tioga Pass Road, and occasionally stop and look around, you can probably find your own little spots like this one.
G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Once you’ve spent enough time in the Sierra, every spot starts to look familiar – especially those that consist of water and granite and trees!
I will share locations with acquaintances and fellow photographers who I know. (You are among this group, David!) However, after a discussion with a photographer and former Yosemite ranger* who explained to me his concerns about being too specific about the locations of sensitive areas, I became a bit more circumspect about some locations. I will name and identify a location if it is either so iconic that everyone knows what it is anyway or if knowing the specific identity of the subject is important to the photograph. But when it is the sort of shot that isn’t really about a specific place, and/or it is in a location that should remain quiet and peaceful, and/or it is accessible enough that it could easily be overrun… I only offer the most general description. The subject of this photograph fits all three of those criteria.
Dan
* David, given the hints, I’ll bet you can figure out the identity of the “former Yosemite ranger.” :-)
This spot looks familiar…isn’t it right below…Wait! No! Get your hands off of me!….gag, choke, wheeze……………………..