I’ve made some significant changes over at my Photography Gallery, where I archive the photographs posted on this blog and elsewhere. The major change has been to switch to a simple layout that focuses more on the photographic images and, I hope, is a bit more logical to navigate. Let me know what you think!
Autumn Oak Grove, El Capitan Meadow
Autumn Oak Grove, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. November 2. 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Autumn colors come to the oak groves in El Capitan Meadow with Cathedral Rocks in the distance – Yosemite Valley, California.
I think I hit this meadow at pretty much the peak of the fall color this year when I visited during the first week of November. The light rain that was falling also helped saturate the colors. El Capitan Meadow is near the base of El Capitan and is full of beautiful, large oak trees and meadow grasses and plants. Beyond the edge of the meadow the lower face of Cathedral Rocks (on the south side of the Valley, opposite El Capitan) is visible.
keywords: autumn, fall, season, el capitan, meadow, grass, leaves, oak, tree, grove, forest, yellow, brown, gold, cloud, rain, cathedral, rocks, cliff, face, mountain, mist, fog, trunk, branch, silhouette, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, stock
Lowepro Nova 200 AW
Earlier this year I acquired a Lowerpro Nova 200 AW camera bag. I have been meaning to write my review, but I’ve managed to delay. I think this is partly a result of the nature of this bag. No, there is nothing wrong with it – in fact, I like it a lot. It is just there is nothing flashy about it either – instead it is just a very competent and useful piece of basic equipment. Continue reading Lowepro Nova 200 AW
Burnt Forest – Yosemite Valley
Burnt Forest – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Burnt trees in a managed fire area of Yosemite Valley.
Now that I understand that fire is a natural and important part of the life cycle of forests, I no longer find burned areas to be ugly – in fact I think that they can be quite compelling scenes. The start quality of charred trees and soil is interesting, and soon the new growth in the burned areas comes in and wildflowers can be abundant. The NPS now has a policy in Yosemite of allowing naturally occurring fires to burn (as long as they don’t threaten structures) and of purposefully starting “managed fires” in places like the Valley.
During my raining early -November weekend in The Valley I stopped in this recently burned forest, initially to photograph new growth of ferns on the forest floor against the dark colors of the trees. After I worked that idea I saw these lower branches on forest trees that had been burned and decided to photograph them as well.
keywords: fire, burn, forest, managed, controlled, trunk, tree, branches, char, brown, blackened, yosemite, valley, national park, nature, california, usa, fall, autumn, season, sierra, nevada, stock