All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest, After Snow

March 11, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Densely intertwining forest trees after a Yosemite Valley snow storm

My previous day in Yosemite Valley had drawn to a close as snow showers dropped a few inches of snow. A blustery and cold little weather front had arrived, bringing showers — the sort of weather than gives you a few minutes of impressive snowfall, followed moments later by the light breaking through. On my way out of the Valley — I was staying up at Wawona — I had stopped to photograph it before starting that snowy drive back to my cabin.

I suspected that the weather would clear the next morning and that bright light and new-fallen snow could turn out to be my subject. My first thought had been to head for Tunnel View, not usually my first choice for Yosemite Valley photography at this point, but potentially very beautiful in these conditions. But when I arrived there the completely clear skies produced a rather mundane sort of scene, at least by comparison to what I had hoped for. (I know… that view is never actually “mundane,” but I’m more likely to photograph it when something really special happens these days.) But further down in the Valley I passed an area of skeletal trees, mostly without leaves or needles, that still held snow and was back-lit. The location was about as non-iconic as you can find in the Valley, but I stopped and wandered off into this forest scene to photograph the patters of branches, trunks, and snow.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Cliffs, New Snow

March 10, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cloud-filtered light passes over granite cliffs dusted by snow

This photograph came as a bit of a surprise. It had been cold and cloudy, and much of the light was rather flat underneath overcast. I had photographed through the afternoon, often finding moments of fine light, but as the day wound toward sunset the clouds thickened and obscured much of the earlier light. Running out of ideas — except for some that I was holding for a bit later — I ended up at an accessible location and, much to my surprise, some like appeared. Moments earlier this bit of cliff face had been entirely in shadow, but then a break in the clouds moved past and illuminated it.

There is a notion that landscape photography is always a slow and contemplative exercise. It certainly can be that, and I know I do spend a fair amount of time walking slowly, looking, thinking, and not necessarily making photographs until I find something — or it finds me. But as much as the landscape doesn’t move, the light and atmosphere often change quite quickly, and photographing it can be an exercise in timing. The timing takes the form of being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, something that you cannot control even though you can increase the odds, and then the timing of making photographs at the moments when light does its most interesting stuff. At these times if you turn away for a few seconds you may miss something entirely.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Light, After Snow

March 9, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light snow on forest trees and granite faces, following winter snow

On most days I’m convinced that there is no season more beautiful in Yosemite Valley than winter, and no day in the Valley more beautiful than one following snowfall, when the sun comes out again, snow blankets the trees, and a bit of remaining mist floats among the spires. (OK, on an autumn day I may give more credit to fall colors, and on a spring day I may acknowledge new growth and wildflowers. But still.)

I was fortunate that it snowed on several days during my recent artist-in-residence stint in the Valley. (Thank you, Yosemite Renaissance.) It did not snow a lot, but it was unusually cold and snow fell all the way to the valley floor, with an accumulation in some spots of a few inches. Because it was so cold the snow did not immediately melt (as it often does at this elevation) or fall from the trees. In this photograph, across the open space of a meadow, you can still see snow in the trees, and it gets thicker as the trees ascend the south side of the Valley.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Los Banos Donuts

March 8, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I can’t be certain, but there is a very good chance that this place was there back when I made my first trip to Yosemite decades ago as a child. I recall my Dad driving us over Pacheco Pass and down through green hills into the Central Valley. (This was before the San Luis Dam was constructed, though I think it was already approved or planned. Yes, I’ve been in California that long!) I know we passed through Los Banos, stopping in a park along the way for a picnic. I don’t know if we stopped for donuts on that trip, but I have stopped here a few times since then.

Every time I’ve passed through this town for the past few years, typically before dawn or well after sunset, I’ve noticed the place and made a mental note to stop and photograph it before dawn or after sunset, its big red DONUTS sign and glowing interior lights calling to us in the darkness. But since I was usually in a hurry to get somewhere — a destination to the east or else back home — I never stopped. Until this season. I finally pulled over and stopped briefly in a parking lot across the street and made a few exposures. I thought the pickup truck was an appropriate touch. (And, no, I did not stop for donuts. This time.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

All posts by G Dan Mitchell

Forest, After Snow

Morning Light, After Snow

Los Banos Donuts

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.