Evening Light, Subalpine Meadow and Peaks

Evening Light, Subalpine Meadow and Peaks
Soft, early evening light falls across a subalpine meadow and rugged High Sierra peaks

Evening Light, Subalpine Meadow and Peaks. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft, early evening light falls across a subalpine meadow and rugged High Sierra peaks.

Many would argue that photography is largely about light. I don’t think it is quite that simple, especially if you consider photography more broadly. However, it is hard to argue that the light isn’t quite often the star of landscape photographs in the aptly-named Range of Light. That name comes from some ineffable quality of Sierra Nevada light, that I’ve often thought of as being partly due to the open nature of the landscape, the typically gray color of the rocks, and the fact that it is more often sunny than cloudy here.

The light in this photograph is perhaps a bit softer than typical Sierra light. We were in one of those cycles when monsoon moisture streams over the range and thunderstorms are possible, and this moisture-laden atmosphere can mute the color and intensity of the light. This is particularly true of the distant ridges in this photograph, where the quality of the light is quite gentle.


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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Walking Man, Florence

Walking Man, Florence
A man walks past businesses in Florence

Walking Man, Florence. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man walks past businesses in Florence.

Several years ago we concluded a long European trip by visiting Italy, where we spent a week in the hills of Tuscany with members of our extended family. The trip, in total, was about bit longer than a month, and we had about a week and a half in Italy.

Most of our time in Tuscany was in the rural area near where we stayed — that region of fields and vineyards and orchards and small towns and villages. However, at the end of that part of our visit we decided to spend a few days in Florence before flying home. It was our first visit there, and we loved the place. (Yes, it is busy and full of tourists, but if you go out at the right times… less so.) I made this photograph on one of our first walks as we headed toward the Ponte Vecchio bridge.


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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Valley and Ridge, Evening

Valley and Ridge, Evening
Early evening light on forest covered valley leading to rocky ridge, Yosemite National Park

Valley and Ridge, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening light on forest covered valley leading to rocky ridge, Yosemite National Park.

Earlier this month I spent a few days in the Tuolumne Meadows high country of Yosemite National Park, generally along the Tioga Pass Road and with hiking excursions outwards from there. My main goal on this trip was actually the hiking, but there was time for photography, too, of course! On this evening I went up to the meadows near the pass just inside the park boundaries and took some time to wander and make photographs.

Here I was attracted by the massive peak, with its reddish rock indicative of old materials that lay above the granite foundation of the range, along with the evening light and the overlapping shapes of lower, forest covered hills and the dark row of trees just beyond the meadow. In addition, I’ve hiked out into that area many times, and this view evokes memories of many of those adventures.


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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Wall, Rue de Braque

Wall, Rue de Braque
Detail of a wall next to sidewalk on Rue de Braque, Le Marais, Paris

Wall, Rue de Braque. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a wall next to sidewalk on Rue de Braque, Le Marais, Paris.

I photographed this little vignette while walking around Le Marais in Paris during our visit last summer. We stayed on the edge of this historic district of old buildings and very narrow streets, and we had lots of opportunities to walk everywhere. I’m happy to simply wander here, looking and seeing what shows up.

The street name caught my attention, of course, and to my eye (which is not profoundly sophisticated when it comes to art history) the color palette and the shapes brought to mind the work of the artist himself. I would usually choose to photograph in earlier or later soft light, but I’ve learned to like the start summer light here, too.


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 | FacebookEmail

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


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

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