Tag Archives: basin

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

4th Street Bridge

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4th Street Bridge
Looking across the Fourth Street Bridge toward the lagoon at the outlet of Mission Creek.

4th Street Bridge. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking across the Fourth Street Bridge toward the lagoon at the outlet of Mission Creek.

This photograph comes from one of my frequent — or so they used to be — walks around San Francisco. My practice is to head up there on the train, arriving early in the morning, then exit the train station and go wherever seems interesting. On this morning I walked south on Fourth Street, crossing the outlet of Mission Creek (which is now pretty much a small bay) and continuing on into the China Basin area.

These San Francisco visits are among the things I miss during this time of pandemic and sheltering in place. I can literally walk to a train station and then be in the City in one hour in normal times — but right now I’m not about to voluntarily spend a couple hours on a train. Once we get this thing under control (and I’m convinced we will) a trip back up there is high on my agenda.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn Clouds, Mono Basin

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Dawn Clouds, Mono Basin
Dawn clouds above Mono Basin

Dawn Clouds, Mono Basin. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn clouds above Mono Basin.

Traveling to the eastern Sierra Nevada, I end up in Mono Basin and areas around Mono Lake with some frequency. Highway 120 through Yosemite is my most-used trans-Sierra route, and it intersects with US 395 at Lee Vining, which sits right above the lake. I pass through even when I cross via one of the other passes to the north.

The most common photographs of the area generally feature relatively close-up views of the tufa towers that are found in places along the Mono Lake shoreline. I have photographed those, too, but they aren’t what most characterizes the place for me. What sticks with me about. the lake and this entire basin is the vast stillness and silence there on most days. I made this photograph early on a mid-October morning from a high vantage spot along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin, Morning

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Mono Basin, Morning
Autumn wildfire haze slighlty obscures mountains on the far, eastern side of Mono Basin

Mono Basin, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn wildfire haze slighlty obscures mountains on the far, eastern side of Mono Basin.

Early on this autumn morning, before heading off to find aspen trees to photograph, we made a side trip to a high spot with a view of the Sierra Crest, Mono Lake, and most of the the Mono Basin. We arrived before sunrise and set up our equipment to photograph the sunrise, which turned out to be a subtle experience due to the prevalence of drifting wildfire smoke east of the Sierra Nevada.

Mono Basin is a gigantic landscape. It is one of those places where the scale is so grand that it is actually hard to realize just how big the distances are. This photograph looks across the surface of the huge lake to its far, eastern shoreline and to the dry mountain ranges beyond. That distant landscape lies in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, and it quickly takes on the dry quality of Nevada’s basin and range country.

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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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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tree and Rock Face

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Tree and Rock Face
A tree next to an eroded and fractured rock face, John Muir Wilderness

Tree and Rock Face. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A tree next to an eroded and fractured rock face, John Muir Wilderness.

Here I am back, once again, to that trip into the John Muir Wilderness from which so many recent posts have come. Believe it or not, there still may be a few to come! With a full week to photograph there, I had ample opportunities to explore all sides of this area.

Above our camp the landscape opened up, becoming more rugged and alpine. This is a land of exposed rocks, glacially smoothed and ground down, with rocks and slabs interspersed with meadows. As I followed a creek up into this drainage, often skirting along the edge of wet, meadowy areas, I saw some interesting rock patterns a bit higher up at the base of a nearby ridge, so I climbed up to photograph the rocks and the small trees and wildflowers growing there.

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.