Tag Archives: ascend

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Autumn Snow

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Aspens and Autumn Snow
Aspens and Autumn Snow

Aspens and Autumn Snow. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 13, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large grove of golden autumn aspen trees ascends the slopes above Conway Summit toward Sierra Nevada peaks blanketed with early fall snow

On the final day of our September trip to photograph eastern Sierra fall color, we made a very long and round-about loop that finally brought us to Lee Vining for a late breakfast. The day had begun with snow flurries in the Mammoth Lakes area, then cleared as we drove a good distance to the east into high desert basin and range country and then north toward Mono Lake. Shortly after passing along the south side of Mono Lake we headed west toward highway 395, with the Sierra crest of the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park rising front of us, enveloped in snow showers. We stopped to photograph a bit and then headed on to Lee Vining for a late breakfast.

By midday the weather was clearly in transition, with clouds and showers lingering along the crest, but clear skies (with a few clouds) to the east. After climbing to Conway Summit we found the area in this weather boundary zone, with broken sunlight and shadows moving across the lower slopes with their colorful aspens, while snow showers were still falling higher up in the peaks of the Sierra crest. This photograph looks more or less in the direction of the sun, and the strong backlit emphasizes the brilliant colors of the aspens.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest and Granite

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Forest and Granite
Forest and Granite

Forest and Granite. Yosemite National Park, California. September 16, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Forest trees ascend a slope filled with small granite domes and ledges, Yosemite National Park.

This little scene could probably be found in a few thousand locations in the Sierra if you were to keep your eyes open while wandering about. The combination of glacially-smoothed, rounded granite formations, a bit of meadowy grass, and groves of pines is a distinctly “Yosemite” sight for me.

I photographed these trees in a location not far from the Tuolumne River where a side canyon comes down from above to join it. From a somewhat open position along one side of this valley I was able to shoot across the valley with a slightly long lens and compress the distance a bit and pick out a series of granite diagonals interrupted and hidden by the back-lit trees.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and Granite Cliffs, Evening Light

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Trees and Granite Cliffs, Evening Light
Trees and Granite Cliffs, Evening Light

Trees and Granite Cliffs, Evening Light. Yosemite National Park, California. September 15, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening sun backlights trees ascending granite slopes in front of cliffs, Yosemite National Park.

This is very similar to a photograph I posted very soon after returning from this trip about a week ago – the previous one was a portrait orientation variation on this landscape orientation version. The beautiful conjunction of trees, granite, and evening light occurred along the Tuolumne River in an area not far from where the river leaves is wide and relatively flat and peaceful path through sub-alpine meadows and enters a canyon that gradually becomes steeper and deeper as it leads to the unfortunate obscenity of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. (I visited that location this summer for the first time in many year, and I found it to be the saddest place that I can ever recall visiting in the National Park System.)

But to leave that gloom and doom behind, this portion of the Tuolumne is spectacularly beautiful! Here the river begins to flow quickly and sometimes wildly across granite slabs, sometimes pausing to flow serenely in more level sections. As I was photographing other more intimate subjects above the river I happened to look up and see this beautiful late afternoon back-light shining through the trees that climbed up towards these folded granite ridges, with the haze-obscured vertical cliffs beyond.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Stairway, Olympic Sculpture Park

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Stairway, Seattle Sculpture Park

Stairway, Seattle Sculpture Park. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stairway ascends to the second floor of the PACCAR Pavilion at the Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, Washington.

I visit Seattle on a fairly regular basis since various relatives live or used to live in the area. I had heard about the Olympic Sculpture Park for years before I finally got to visit on a cold New Years Day a few years ago – and since that visit I’ve always looked forward to visiting and photographing the park. This time I was only there for a very short time – perhaps 30-45 minutes between a midday activity and departure to Seatac for my flight back home – so I only photographed a few subjects. This stairway intrigued me with its crazy angles, the combination of real objects and almost-imaginary reflected versions of them, and the soft light coming through the windows from the overcast Seattle sky.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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