Tag Archives: alpine

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Subalpine Meadow, Lake, and Peaks

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Subapline Meadow, Lake, and Peaks
“Subalpine Meadow, Lake, and Peaks” — Alpine peaks stand beyond a subalpine meadow and lake, John Muir Wilderness.

This monumental string of peaks running west from the Sierra Nevada crest was our companion during a two-week late-summer base-camp here a few years ago. A group of nine photographers packed in and set up basecamp for a week. This gave us plenty of time to extensively explore and photograph the surrounding area. It is rare — and quite special — to get to focus so thoroughly on one small area of the wilderness like this.

Our camp was down in forest near a small lake, perhaps a ten or fifteen minute walk from the location of the photograph. A short walk up through the forest brought us to the edge of the alpine world at the timberline, where streams meander through open meadows, the views are uninterrupted by large trees, and it is possible to simply walk wherever you want to go — no need for trails.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening Shadow

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Evening Shadow
“Evening Shadow” — Evening shadows work their way up the face of a Sierra Nevada ridge, John Muir Wilderness.

This is one of the best times of the day in the backcountry — when the shadows lengthen and fall across the landscape, with nightfall inevitably not far behind. On typical evenings, everything slows down as the winds die and it becomes very quiet — a kind of deep quiet never experienced in our city lives. The light turns golden and we stop to watch the colors on peaks, knowing that the day is almost over.

Our group of photographers was camped in a high Sierra basin for a week a few years ago. By this evening we had adapted completely into the rituals and slower time of the backcountry, and as the quiet evening approached we set about slowly looking for a few last photographs.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Ridge, Evening

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Alpine Ridge, Evening
“Alpine Ridge, Evening” — Golden hour light glances across a shattered, rocky ridge, John Muir Wilderness

There is a common notion that landscape photography is a slow and deliberate activity, that we stand in front of a static landscape and carefully work out the right composition as the landscape awaits. This can happen, but the landscape is often quite dynamic, particularly when it comes to changing light. Beams of light between clouds can move across the scene, sunset light is ephemeral, rain showers can momentarily reveal or obscure features.

I made this photograph near our campsite on a lovely late-summer evening. It was during the last half of our weeklong stay, so we were settling in. As the day ended we were all wandering about looking for photographs. As the sun dropped to the west, deep shadows began to fill the great valley in front of us and then creep up the slopes. A last beam of light fell across the near ridge, and then was gone moments after I photographed it.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Water Over Stones

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Water Over Stones
“Water Over Stones” — The waters of a Sierra Nevada creek flow over stones.

Every landscape photographer I know is easily distracted by flowing water. Our “thing” might be large-scale landscapes, trees, rocks, you name it. But during slow moments we’ll point our cameras down or across the nearest flowing water and see what we can do with this subject. It provides a lot of opportunities. Long exposures can turn flowing water into cloudy veils. Reflections introduce symmetry and/or colors. And, as in this photograph, the water diffuses and smooths features beneath its flow.

I was actually lucky to find such clear water on this backcountry trip. Right after we arrived at our basecamp the heavens opened up and it rained heavily for the next twenty-four hours. When we finally crawled out of our tents the day after it began, we found a nearby lake muddy with sediments washed down these creeks. But before long the sediments decreased and I found this clear creek.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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