Tag Archives: basin

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke

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Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke
Morning sun rising through a pall of wildfire smoke, east of the Sierra Nevada

Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rising through a pall of wildfire smoke, east of the Sierra Nevada,

This was one of the most eerie days I have experienced in the Sierra. While it wasn’t the first of last time I’ve encountered the effects of wildfire there, this was quite different. The previous evening I had seen a bit of smoke far to the south, but didn’t think too much of it, as this was the wildfire season and such things aren’t unusual. I was camped in a deep east side valley that did not afford a distant view, so it wasn’t until I left that valley in the early morning and headed out on the east side fo the range that I saw what was happening.

I arrived at the junction of US 395 and Tioga Pass Road before dawn and found a high spot to photograph Mono Lake. It was immediately clear that a very active wildfire was building to the south and that the smoke was drifting north. It was still mostly clear above the lake, but not for long. Soon the smoke nearly obscured the view, though I continued photographing. I thought that heading north might get me away from the smoke, but now it was spreading fast and I couldn’t escape it. I made a few photographs from a high location that featured the smoke-filled Mono Basin, and then I started toward the southern Sierra. Passing again by Mono Lake I encountered some of the thickest wildfire smoke I have seen. This photograph was made under that pall, which was so dark that it barely seemed like twilight and the light of the sun was almost blocked.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Color, Sierra Nevada Crest

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Autumn Color, Sierra Nevada Crest
Mountainsides of autumn aspen color rise toward the Sierra Nevada crest

Autumn Color, Sierra Nevada Crest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mountainsides of autumn aspen color rise toward the Sierra Nevada crest

I had a whole bunch of other photographs (late-summer in the Sierra, European travel/street photography) queued up to post right about now… but fall color is currently happening, and it seems better to post the timely stuff. With that in mind, here is another Sierra Nevada fall color photograph, with others to come shortly. By the way, if you are wondering when to go to the Eastern Sierra to see (mostly) aspen fall color, the core season generally includes about the first three weeks of October, with the middle week often being the most reliable. So, as of today… there is still time!

This is probably a familiar scene to those who travel around the Sierra Nevada’s east side in October to search for aspen color. This valley and these peaks are in one of the more popular locations — though, in truth, you can find good aspen color up and down the east side of the range and in a few places west of the crest, too. I’m most often in this particular spot quite early in the day, but I made this photograph later in the afternoon, when backlight illuminated and highlighted the aspen colors, a few clouds cast moving shadows across the scene, and a gentle haze softened the details of the highest peaks.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake

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Morning Light, Meadow and Lake
First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

This photograph includes many of the major visual themes from a weeklong photographic visit to this part of the Sierra Nevada backcountry: The green meadow with its small trees, the still lake, low hills between the lake and the deep valley beyond, and across that valley many high, alpine peaks.

Although it is not the highest peak in this view — not by far — the bulky peak in the center of the frame dominated the view from this spot and many other nearby areas. (It also appears in a previous photograph I posted from near this location.) This morning began with partly cloudy skies, and as the sunlight began to penetrate the overcast it sent a beam of warm light across the face of the peak.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Meadow and Lake, Sierra Crest

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Alpine Meadow and Lake, Sierra Crest
The Sierra Nevada crest beyond an alpine meadow and lake

Alpine Meadow and Lake, Sierra Crest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Sierra Nevada crest beyond an alpine meadow and lake

A short walk from our backcountry camp was a higher meadow that we visited almost every day, morning and/or evening. In this unusually wet year the meadow was green and full of wildflower,  with water running strongly in the creek and the areas around the tarn muddy with standing run-off.

The meadow and its flowers were the first attractions of this spot, but the more I visited it and watched the light on the higher peaks, the more they came to fascinate me. The central peak in the photograph stands apart from the main ridge, and for this reason it picks up direct sun from morning until evening. I made this photograph in the evening, when the direct light had already left the meadow (shadowed by a nearby ridge) and remnant thunder-storm clouds filled the sky.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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