Category Archives: Photographs: Yosemite

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

From Meadow to Ridge

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From Meadow to Ridge
Sierra Nevada forest blankets slopes leading from Tuolumne Meadows toward cloud-backed alpine ridge

From Meadow to Ridge. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sierra Nevada forest blankets slopes leading from Tuolumne Meadows toward cloud-backed alpine ridge

This scene is along the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, where a very large subalpine meadow system filled with boulders and domes is surrounded by forest interspersed with more granite intrusions and eventually rising to some very high peaks. I tend to be more aware of the non-forest elements here, but when I stop to pay attention to the trees I am always impressed by their extent as they rise toward the higher slopes.

But this photograph is, I think, really about the light. It was late in the day, and thunderstorm clouds had been building since the morning. They had peaked, and by this time there was a bit of clearing and light began to come into the scene through the openings in the clouds. Here the foreground forest is in the open light, while the distant ridge, being closer to the crest, was still receiving broken light.

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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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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

Slabs and Domes, Clearing Storm, Evening

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Tuolumne Meadows in evening light as afternoon storm clouds begin to clear

Slabs and Domes, Clearing Storm, Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tuolumne Meadows in evening light as afternoon storm clouds begin to clear

This was an evening of dramatically evolving light, alternately brilliant and blah! Thunderstorm weather in the Sierra is such a tricky and transitory thing, and there are frequent swings from “meh” light to astonishing light. When the storm conditions are at their peak, the light can be very flat and “gray,” with little contrast — and it can be a challenge to find ways to make effective photographs. (Not impossible, mind you… just challenging!) But these conditions often bear the seeds of remarkable and dramatic light, especially as the storms begin to clear. Breaks in the cloud cover often send beams of light — frequently warm, saturated golden hour light — across parts of the landscape, and this light may highlight specific features against a backdrop of contrasting darker scenery and dramatic clouds.

These effects can appear (and disappear) quite quickly, and landscape photography in these conditions becomes anything but a leisurely and meditative process. In fact, it is more a matter of “photograph now or it will disappear!” In truth, things happen so quickly that they often disappear before there is time to set up a camera and make a photograph. The light on the foreground meadow and its protruding granite slabs and boulders came in at a low angle from the west, here more clearing was taking place. I was fortunate in that it not only highlighted the foreground formation but also lit up the more distant granite domes, which stand out against their darker surroundings.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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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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

Mount Dana, Stormy Sky

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Mount Dana, Stormy Sky
Thunderstorm clouds begin to assemble above Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park

Mount Dana, Stormy Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thunderstorm clouds begin to assemble above Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park

In this case I’ll make a bit of an exception to my usual rule and identify this peak by name. It is Mount Dana, a mountain well-known to folks who pass over Tioga Pass on the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park, as it towers directly above the pass and is automatically the dominant feature of the landscape here. I climbed it once, many years ago, and have never been up it again, with the exception of one aborted attempt with one of my sons quite a few years ago. (We got up to the edge of the first plateau, only to discover a problem with his shoes.) My single ascent was a formative moment for me in the mountains. I can’t have been much older than 12-14 years old, and I was there with my parents and siblings. There was a ranger-led ascent, and my younger siblings weren’t ready for a 3,000′ climb to slightly over 13,000′, so they sent me alone with the group. (My memory is understandably hazy, but it may have been led by Carl Sharsmith.) I barely recall the summit, but I surely recall the climb, and I have a distinct memory of being at the top and looking down to see some hearty mountaineer type striding straight up the talus slopes across which we had just dragged our non-acclimatized bodies. I was impressed, and that image remains with me.

For such an important peak, it isn’t one I photograph a lot, with the exception of some long-lens photographs from the Tuolumne Meadows area. However, I’m aware of a view alternate views of the mountain, including this one that appeared as I returned from a hike just outside the park. The view from this spot is often a bit bland, frequently in full sun with blue sky. But on this day I was blessed with building clouds that still were broken just enough to let light and shadow move across the face of the peak.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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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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

Meadow, Tarn, and Trees

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Meadow, Tarn, and Trees
Small trees near timberline grow in a meadow surrounding a subalpine tarn

Meadow, Tarn, and Trees. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small trees near timberline grow in a meadow surrounding a subalpine tarn

In the Sierra Nevada photographers are nearly always grateful for clouds. There is a reason that these mountains are referred to as the “range of light” — there is a lot of light! In the summer months we often experience many days of perfect blue skies, often without a single cloud in sight, at least if you don’t include jet contrails from the many routes passing above the range. Clouds play a small part in this photograph, but I think they make a difference.

I made the photograph very near Tioga Pass, along the Sierra crest. I rarely photograph in this specific spot since it can be busy place and it is a bit overdone. (I have plenty of work in my archives that I have photographed from right around here.) But on this day the late light, as the sun was just about to pass behind the tall ridge to the west, was both warm and softened by the clearing overcast. So I stopped and wandered briefly into this intimate landscape of trees, meadow, and tarn.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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