Merced River, Forest, Autumn. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Colorful autumn trees among burned forest and reflected in the water of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley
This is, in several ways, a “quieter” photograph than some that I have posted recently. The location is along a section of the Merced River in Yosemite Valley that is probably not really seen by more than a handful of people, if that, on any given day.The spot is not special enough, if specialness is definable, to warrant its own particular name. (However, a few people do have a name for it – but it isn’t really to be shared here.) So the scene itself was, objectively speaking, quiet – the only others around were a couple of photographer friends working individually nearby, there was no wind, the river was as calm and quiet as I recall seeing it – barely even flowing, and almost nothing was moving in the forests along its banks.
There was another kind of quiet, too – the mental quiet that I often look for while photographing, especially in places like this. It is easy to let my mind wander – is this the right place to stop? should I check email before leaving the car? is there anything here that will make a great photograph? might it be easier to shoot someplace more predictably beautiful? what if I can’t find anything to shoot? Leaving my car behind and shouldering my tripod and bag of gear, I walked down to the river bank and began looking. My notions about what I might photograph are not so important – being open to what I might find to photograph is. When you first begin to photograph, it can sometimes take a long time to get into the frame of mind that allows you to slow down and become engrossed by what you see, to the point that you lose track of time and even where you are, focusing entirely on the seeing and the photographing. Eventually, I think you can learn to let this happen more quickly – not that it always does – and to avoid the trap of trying too hard to steer the process and to instead be quiet and open to what you see. And so, thinking back on this evening, as I made my last photographs before heading home, I recall the sense of quiet focus as much as the objective features of the scene itself.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Dan, it’s quiet spots like this in Yosemite Valley that bring great peace and you begin to see the beautiful harmony of the landscape. I tend to find them when I am alone and in a more contemplative mood. This is a lovely, simple and beautiful portrait of the forest and river, forever bound together.
Rosemary, it sounds like you and I may perhaps share a similar relationship with the place. I think some people are baffled when they hear that I go to the Valley and wander off into some nondescript shady corner rather than photographing an icon*, or go to an iconic spot and make photographs of, oh, a few leaves on the ground, rocks, some trees. They might think that we are missing what the Valley is, but I think we simply know it more deeply and have learned that it is defined by many more things that just the famous cliffs, domes, and waterfalls.
Dan
* But they are impressive icons! We become, perhaps, just a bit blasé about them after a while, but I recall being reminded of their power a couple of years ago. I had stopped at Tunnel View and was not making photographs – it wasn’t that sort of day – when someone who had apparently never seen the Valley arrived by way of the tunnel, got out of a car and walked to the viewpoint, and was brought nearly to tears by the sight. It made me see the place momentarily as if I did not know it so well and it still gives me shivers to think of this moment!