Light on Rocks, Tuolumne River. Yosemite National Park, California. July 12, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Early evening light shines on granite slabs along the Tuolumne River as afternoon clouds dissipate behind nearby peaks
As I post it in November, this photograph takes me back to a wonderful Sierra trip last summer. I spent a few days in July camped at Tuolumne Meadows, doing a bit of hiking and a lot of photography. Each morning and evening I was out with the camera, in the meadows or somewhere else along Tioga Road. Although it was the fourth summer of California drought in the Sierra — a drought that did serious damage to the Sierra environment — on these July days it was almost possible to not think about that. There had been rain and it was the green time of year in the high country.
One evening I went out, this time by vehicle, to look for subjects. I had only a vague idea of some general things to photograph back along Tioga Pass Road, so I was easily distracted by anything that happened to catch my attention. Before I even left the Meadows I caught sight of some trees that were lit in an interesting way, so I turned around, drove back, and pulled out along the road. There were other cars there already and I hoped my sudden arrival didn’t annoy anyone, but I quickly saw a pair of photography friends at one of the vehicles. After exchanging greetings we decided to hear across the meadow together. By the time we got to the other side yet another couple of photography friends showed up! Mind you, none of this was planned. We all teamed up and spent a beautiful evening among friends making photographs along the Tuolumne.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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