Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light

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Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light
El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

This in alternate version of a photograph of this scene that I shared earlier. It was the first subject I photographed on a very long day when I arose before 3:00AM, drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Yosemite, photographed all day, and drove back at night, arriving home after midnight. After nearly four hours of driving I entered the Valley and stopped here, where the view opens up for the first time. At this early hour it was still quiet and the morning light was slanting through the thin haze between me and El Capitan.

You might wonder, “Why two versions of the same subject?” A complete answer would take more than a paragraph, but here are a few quick thoughts. Sometimes someone needs the photograph in a particular format, so in cases where the subject can work two ways I make portrait and landscaper orientation versions. Sometimes I just want to see how to make the subject “work” both ways… and then I may end up liking both options!

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Valley Forest

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Yosemite Valley Forest
A Yosemite Valley forest of conifers and spring dogwood trees.

Yosemite Valley Forest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A Yosemite Valley forest of conifers and spring dogwood trees.

In an earlier post I described my “typical day” on one of my long, one-day visits to the Sierra. (I don’t recommend this approach, and I’d rather have had time to stay longer — but it was a choice between a quick visit and no visit.) I mentioned that, unsurprisingly, the early morning and evening hours are the most conducive to photography. But if I keep at it during the midday hours I can usually find some things that are worth the effort.

I made this photograph on a midday ramble. The goal was partly to scout potential subjects for later in the day, partly to enjoy a walk, and partly to make a few photographs if anything turned up. I stopped on a bridge over the snowmelt-swollen Merced River and as I contemplated the scene I thought this little bit of Yosemite Valley forest looked interesting with its tall conifers, open light, and scattered blooming dogwood trees.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Ivy-Covered Wall

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Ivy-Covered Wall
Thick, green ivey covers and old brick wall.

Ivy-Covered Wall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Thick, green ivey covers and old brick wall.

I am a sucker for soft light and green leaves, especially if the light is somewhat varied and the leaves have a bit of texture and good coverage. This bit of ivy, covering a wall at a San Francisco Peninsula garden, fit the bill. It was tucked away on the shady side of building, with trees overhead, but some slightly more intense light coming from behind me through openings in trees.

I’m often tricked by subjects like this one. When I see a bed or wall of overlapping leaves it often seems like I could just point the camera that way and produce some kind of picture. But when I do and I look more carefully, there are almost always little bits of imperfection and unbalance that distract me… and I end up taking much longer with these subjects than I expect to.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Trees, and Cascade

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Meadow, Trees, and Cascade
The view across a Yosemite Valley meadow toward a spring cascade below Glacier Point.

Meadow, Trees, and Cascade. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The view across a Yosemite Valley meadow toward a spring cascade below Glacier Point.

To some extent, this is arguably a “record shot” that documents this year’s extraordinary spring runoff in Yosemite Valley. This winter set records for total snowfall (and snow water content) thought the Sierra, and once spring warmth arrived it began to melt, sending torrents of water downstream. When I visited the Valley in late May, there was water everywhere: meadows had become lakes, trails were flooded, and water was cascading down cliff faces in locations that are usually dry.

This view looks across the Valley to a particularly interesting section of its walls. The main mass of rock is just to the west of the Glacier Point Apron, in an area of fractured rock that drains the watershed above. Typically you might see a small trickle of water here, but at this point there was a full-on stream winding back and forth down this face toward the Valley.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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