Granite Slabs, Forest, and Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 3, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Granite slabs and forest trees reflected in the still surface of a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park
This is the sort of beautiful and peaceful scene that greeted us each morning as we worked to photograph the area surrounding this subalpine lake in the Yosemite backcountry. Every morning the routine was: up before sunrise, grab the photography equipment and walk down to the lake, wander around looking carefully and critically for photographs… and enjoy the still quiet of the Sierra morning.
In visual terms the shoreline of such a lake is a very interesting and complex subject. On one hand, there are potential subjects everywhere. On the other, the complexity of the scene can be a challenge when it comes to finding compositions. The options include “thinking small” and isolating small elements within the overall scene, looking for juxtapositions and relationships that help bring some form to the details, or simply embracing the complexity. (Adding to the challenge, the dynamic range between the deep forest shade and the sunlit granite can be huge.) I think that this photograph perhaps combines a bit of the second option and a lot of the third. Every portion of the frame is filled with details, yet I think that in the end not all of them are equally important.
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.