Tag Archives: backcountry

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Rock and Ice

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Rock and Ice
“Rock and Ice” — A permanent ice field and rugged alpine terrain in the Sierra Nevada.

This is a classic example of alpine Sierra Nevada terrain. At the very bottom is a bit of alpine meadow, located right at the upper edge of the local tree line. Above that we see large expanses of glaciated granite with rounded and smoothed forms that are now cracked and broken by erosion. Still higher, a permanent ice field (one of a diminishing number of them) nestles in a bowl eroded by its glacial ancestor. The ice field sits at the base of very steep and rugged slopes that rise to unseen peaks.

One result of spending a lot of time in the higher reaches of the Sierra Nevada is that it is easy to forget how exotic such landscapes look to those who don’t visit them. To them, this terrain might seem forbidding and out of reach. But the reality is that once you reach this elevation, the land opens up and you can go almost anywhere without trails, limited only by your imagination and you ability to find routes and navigate.

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

Lake, Ridges, and Haze

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Lake, Ridges, and Haze
“Lake, Ridges, and Haze” — Hazy morning light on ridges, cliffs, and a subalpine lake, Sierra Nevada.

It is fair to say that I got a lot of photographic mileage out of this view during our stay here a few years back. I’ve shared numerous photographs of it, though in different formats, times of day, and conditions. Despite the presence of so much other visual material, it dominated our consciousness. I suppose that part of the reason is that it was within minutes of our campsite, but it is a remarkable setting, too.

I photographed this version in the morning. At the start of our visit we had quite a lot of rain, but that diminished later on, and the sky was mostly clear on this day. The view looks roughly northeast, so the sun was just clearing the ridges out of the frame to the right. This light, coming in at an angle, illuminated the atmospheric haze and emphasized the atmospheric recession of more distant ridges. It also produced what almost looks like rim light on the exposed places on the face at the left.

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

Lake in Shadow

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Lake in Shadow
“Lake in Shadow” — Morning light strikes cliffs above a shadowed Sierra Nevada lake.

For more than a decade, during most summers I have spent a solid week in the Sierra Nevada backcountry with fellow photographers, base-camped at various beautiful locations. (Travel and other things have interfered during the past two years.) These trips give us the opportunity to focus on photographing a limited area in a variety of conditions. On these trips we live in one small area for a week, and photograph only what we can walk to, frequently revisiting subjects several times.

This lake was just below our camp, and of course we photographed it many times — morning and night, sunshine, rain, fog, you name it. Most often I hoped for light that would open shadows in the landscape, but on this morning I decided to go with the shade and let portions of the image remain dark. In fact, the luminosity curve of this photograph is weighted strongly to the dark end of the scale. But I think that it captures the quiet mood here as the sun worked its way up the far valley toward “our lake.”

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

At Tree Line

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At Tree Line
“At Tree Line” — The final small trees give way to meadows and granite at tree line, Sierra Nevada.

On occasion I have been asked about my favorite places in the Sierra Nevada, the range I have wandered for decades. I do have specific favorite locations, but I often answer more generally: it is the country right at the tree line, where the terrain opens up, the highest peaks are visible, there is (usually) water everywhere, and where one can freely wander without trails, constrained only by technical skills, terrain, endurance, and imagination. To me, this IS the embodiment of the “range of light.”

The place in the photograph is a fine example of what I refer to. We were camped at a lower elevation among trees and near a lake. But we could see all the way up this long, open valley with small trees, scattered meadows, and a lovely creek. I walked up it several times during our stay. As I ascended the trees began to thin and the meadows, soggy in places, took over. I made the photograph in the region of the last trees, and then I kept going toward the base of the talus slopes in the distant shadows.

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.