Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches

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Lakeshore, Trees, Benches
A series of tree-covered rocky benches rises from the shore of a small subalpine lake

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A series of tree-covered rocky benches rises from the shore of a small subalpine lake

As I have mentioned previously, one of the pleasures of photographing from a backcountry base camp is that it provides opportunities to get to know the landscape more intimately. I have the opportunity to revisit locations in different or better conditions, and over the course of the visit I learn more about the landscape as I explore it.

This spot is a case in point. All of us went into this general area — perhaps a 10-15 minute walk from our camp — starting near the beginning of our stay. It is a complex landscape of small lakes, cut through by granite benches, and covered with meadows and an open forest of small trees. Our first approach was by the most obvious trail, but later in the week we began to discover alternatives. One of those alternative approaches brought us to this spot, where an elevated camera position permitted a view down toward the edge of this grass-line lake and beyond to the series of rising hills covered with trees.

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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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Photographs: France, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Travel

Boulders and Forest

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Boulders and Forest
Boulders and trees in the forest of Fontainebleau.

Boulders and Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders and trees in the forest of Fontainebleau.

After weeks of urban travel, enjoying big cities from London to Paris, I was looking forward to the final week of this summer’s long trip to Europe, as we were going to spend it with family at a large vacation home in the countryside not far from Paris. Among other things, I had heard/read that we would be very close to the town of Fontainebleau and the Fontainebleau Forest. In fact, as we drove there we passed through this forest.

A few days into our stay we all decided that it was time for a hike there. I was hoping for a chance to do at least a little bit of landscape photography in this unfamiliar location, even though I would be doing it with my travel photography equipment and not using a tripod. The section of forest we visited was just outside the village of Barbizon, so it was not exactly a wilderness location — there was a small cafe not far away, and lots of people were out hiking and riding bicycles. The forest itself is lovely, though completely different from the great mountain conifer forests of “my” Sierra Nevada. By comparison, this French forest was nearly flat, with few hills more than a few hundred feet high. The trees are a mix of deciduous and conifers, spaced widely to allow plenty of light. The area is known for these large boulders.

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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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Early Autumn Color, Lake and Mountain

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Early Autumn Color, Lake and Mountain
Early autumn color along the shore of a Sierra Nevada alpine lake

Early Autumn Color, Lake and Mountain. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early autumn color along the shore of a Sierra Nevada alpine lake

One of the pleasures of photographing from a backcountry base camp is that I can roll out of my sleeping bag and climb out of the tent… and start photographing almost at my doorstep. We camped near this lake for a full week, and on several mornings and evenings I explored it, gradually pushing out my boundaries, traveling a bit further along and beyond its shoreline, and getting to know it in different light at various times of day.

I made this photograph on one of those morning walks, when I set out slowly towards the far opposite end of the lake near its outlet stream. I was in no hurry, taking time to observe and photograph as I walked. Eventually I made it to that further point, photographed a bit there, and turned around to start back toward camp, continuing to photograph. The lake remained in the shadow of the tall ridge to the left long after sunrise, and as I walked back the first beams of light reached the shoreline. In this photograph a lakeside willow bush is catching some of that first light.

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: France, Photographs: Travel

Pont Neuf, Twilight

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Pont Neuf, Twilight
The Pont Neuf Bridge over the Seine, twilight

Pont Neuf, Twilight. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Pont Neuf Bridge over the Seine, twilight

Near the end of this year’s European travels we were able to spend four nights in Paris before we left that city to meet up with family members in a nearby rural area. Three days and four nights isn’t a lot of time in Paris, but we used it to revisit some places we had been to in the past and to go to a few places we previously missed. We did “the usual” — ate a lot of food, sat in cafes, went to museums, walked a lot, attended a concert, made photographs.

The final evening before we departed ended up being special. It wasn’t that we went anywhere we hadn’t been before or did anything new. In fact, the places we went were all familiar to us. It was a conjunction of several things that made it magical. It was a weekend evening and there were huge crowds of people out walking everywhere. Along the Seine there were walkers, cyclists, people lounging, dancers, musicians, and more. We crossed the bridge at Pont Neuf right around sunset and continued along the banks of the river… and a few moments later I made this twilight photograph looking back toward the bridge.

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.

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