Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds

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Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds
Small trees and wildflowers spread across a large subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow

Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small trees and wildflowers spread across a large subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow.

We spent a week camped next to this lovely subalpine meadow, with its small lake, forest of small trees, and surrounding alpine peaks. For those whose backpacking mostly consists of daily walking from camp to camp (as it did for me for many years) the idea of staying in one place for a week can seem boring or even upsetting. But I’ve learned that over time such places reveal plenty of interesting stuff — and I’ve never reached the end of a week in one of them feeling that I’ve exhausted its potential.

Our camp was hidden in trees on top of a rocky moraine, mostly invisible to passers-by. But a short walk down the side of the moraine quickly brought us to the edge of this meadow. The centerpiece of the meadow was a quiet lake, surrounded by grass and wildflowers and covered in places with wildflowers. This was one of those rare and special years when prodigious and late snowfall keeps the meadows green all the way into September, and late season wildflowers were everywhere.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Meadow

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Morning Meadow
Wild onion plants in bloom at the edge of a subalpine meadow, John Muir Wilderness

Morning Meadow. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wild onion plants in bloom at the edge of a subalpine meadow, John Muir Wilderness.

One a weeklong visit to this area a couple of years ago, I eventually started to locate particular nearby locations that I returned to almost daily, visiting at all times of the day and getting to know them well. We camped above a quiet lake, and below its lower end there were long meadows extending toward the deep valley beyond. Despite the lateness of the season (it had been a very wet year!) the meadows were still green and even wet in places, and there were wildflowers everywhere. In this little spot the view opened through gaps in the surrounding forest to reveal views of distant peaks.

It might seem odd to make a photograph of… onion plants. But if you have spent much time in the Sierra backcountry you may have developed an affinity for this plant. The wild onion generally grows in wet places, and when the conditions are right the plants are almost lush. The beautiful purple flowers are striking. And the fragrance of these plants, often combined with damp and cooler air where they grow, produces a pleasant sensory memory that I associate with these places and with backpacking.

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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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Black Point

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Black Point
Mono Lake and Black Point

Black Point. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mono Lake and Black Point.

Mono Lake and the basin it occupies make up a huge and diverse area with all sorts of attractions. The lake itself is usually regarded as the most striking feature — it is a massive, landlocked body of water filled by runoff from the eastern Sierra, whose peaks form the backdrop to the west. It sits on the western edge of the basin and range country that stretches east for many hundred of miles. And there are subjects on a more intimate scale, too, ranging from tufa towers to the abundant birdlife. It is also a place of volcanism, with craters in and extending south from the lake. And for me one of the most impressive features is the expanse of the place, with views extending across vast distances.

This feature, also volcanic, sits along the northern shoreline of the lake. While is easy to view from afar, it isn’t quite so simple to get to it, and consequently it is not a crowded place at all. In the lower portion of the photograph the lake’s waters meet its gentle shoreline, where water levels have dropped, in more recent times largely due to water withdrawn from tributary streams and sent to the LA area.

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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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Nassau Crosses Ann Street!

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Nassau Crosses Ann Street!
The corner of Nassau and Ann Streets, Manhattan. (Charles Ives fans may get the reference.)

Nassau Crosses Ann Stree! © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The corner of Nassau and Ann Streets, Manhattan. (Charles Ives fans may get the reference.)

Anne Street

Quaint name Ann street.
Width of same, ten feet.
Barnum’s mob Ann street,
Far from ob-solete.

Narrow, yes, Ann street,
But business, both feet.
(Nassau crosses Ann Street)
Sun just hits Ann street,
Then it quits–some greet!
Rather short, Ann Street.

– Maurice Morris

Fans of the work of American composer Charles Ives may “get” this. Not long ago I finally worked out the location of theManhattan street that gives the song its name, found it, and looked for the parenthetical cross street. Located on the fringes of the financial district it still has connections to this rather old poetic description. (Those who are inclined to find and listen to the song should look for some wonderful musical puns in Ives’ treatment.)

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 | Facebook | Email

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.