Pastures Near Bishop, California

BishopPasture2005|08|06: Pastures and Eastern Sierra Nevada near Bishop. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Pastures and Eastern Sierra. Bishop, California. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

There were thunderstorms up and down the eastern Sierra on this late August afternoon.

A little story about getting this photo: I had spent the day up in the White Mountains visiting and photographing the famous Bristlecone Pines. It had been a long day – longer than expected – and I had finally made my way back to Owens Valley to begin the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay area. I had done so much photography already that I was feeling burned out when I saw this lovely light in the pasture area just north of Bishop. I almost drove right past it, but at the last minute took a quick exit from the highway and drove off onto a side road where I found this wonderful scene.

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Back Early

To my surprise, I’m back early from my Sierra backpack trip. It was supposed to last 14 days but I exited on day 5. The good news is that I had a chance to visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of eastern California and then to travel through Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite on an evening of stunningly beautiful light.
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On Vacation

I’ll be out and about during the first part of August and this site will not be updated again until mid-August. Watch for new photos here at that time!
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Le Conte Canyon in Evening Light

LeConteCanyonBW2004|07|12: Le Conte Canyon. Kings Canyon National Park. July 12, 2004. &copy Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Le Conte Canyon in Evening Light. Kings Canyon National Park. July 12, 2004. &copy Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This is one of my favorite images but one that frustrates me a bit as well.

Last summer a group of us had just come over Bishop Pass and down from Dusy Basin, turning south on the Muir Trail near this point. It was late in the day – we would finally arrive at our campsite after sunset – and I paused briefly to grab a hand held shot here.

I love the form of the image, especially the pool of light in the foreground at the bottom of the frame. Unfortunately, the original image was underexposed and taken on a camera that does not deal well with low light levels. Consequently, I’ll never be able to get a print larger than 8 x 10 or so out of this image.

However, in about two weeks I should be within a very short distance of this very same spot. If conditions cooperate, I’ll leave camp at the turnoff to Dusy Basin and hike down here with a better camera, better lens, and tripod and see if I can get a technically better image.

Update: I was looking at maps last night and I think that this peak is called “The Citadel.”

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