Tag Archives: basin

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks

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Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks
Wildflowers carpet a meadow leading to John Muir Wilderness peaks

Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildflowers carpet a meadow leading to John Muir Wilderness peaks

I made this photograph just steps from where we were camped for a week during a prior (and much wetter!) summer. If you were at this location at the end of July in a more typical year you would likely see a lot of brown beginning to appear in the meadow. But this had been a year of record-breaking winter precipitation, and everything was still green.

There were also wildflowers everywhere. (Mosquitos, too, of course — the two go hand in hand in the high country!) This is something of an unusual composition for me, with a wide-angle lens placing the very close flowers in the same frame with the very distant alpine ridge standing in bright morning light against a perfect blue sky.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Wild Onion Flowers

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Wild Onion Flowers
Wild onion plants blossoming in a meadow below Sierra Nevada peaks

Wild Onion Flowers. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wild onion plants blossoming in a meadow below Sierra Nevada peaks

This week-long (plus!) visit to the Sierra backcountry came during a summer following a record-setting wet season in California. This was more special than usual, as the five years before that had been a period of intense and historically unprecedented drought conditions. During those earlier years a visit to this location at this time of year would have seen dry meadows, almost no wildflowers, and missing snow fields. Given that backdrop, the lush green landscape was extra special.

Even at this late date the wildflowers were abundant and lush. By the end of our stay a few sections of some open meadows were showing just a bit of brown. In may seem surprising, but the purple swamp onion flowers are among my favorite in the Sierra. The plants are lush and green, they typically grow in wet areas, and the flowers are colorful. But more than that is the special surprise of coming upon the fragrance of fresh, wild onions in the backcountry.

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 Lake and Sierra Crest Peaks

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Alpine Lake and Sierra Crest Peaks
The peaks of the Sierra Nevada crest tower above a reflecting alpine lake

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

The peaks of the Sierra Nevada crest tower above a reflecting alpine lake

This photograph is another from the northeast boundary country around Yosemite National Park — the park starts on the far side of the high ridge. I’ve always thought that his area deserves inclusion in the park since the scenery is as spectacular as inside the park, and today most of it is wilderness. I haven’t researched this, but I suspect that the explanation may have two parts. First, the crest of the Sierra was an obvious place to draw a boundary. Second, mining took place in this area, something that always makes the establishment of a park more complicated. That mining ended a long time ago, but you can still find traces.

This is the same lovely subalpine lake I wrote about earlier. I hiked here early in the morning, hitting the trail at dawn, and spent more than an hour slowly exploring this spot and making photographs. The air was still at times, so the reflections of the rugged and rocky ridge was often rather clear, and the symmetry of the reflected image was remarkable.

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

Timberline Lake And Reflections

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Timberline Lake And Reflections
A timberline lake in 20 Lakes Basin reflects the face of a tall granite ridge

Timberline Lake And Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A timberline lake in 20 Lakes Basin reflects the face of a tall granite ridge

This scene gets up close and personal with the crest of the Sierra Nevada, along the boundary country just northeast of Yosemite National Park. The lake is just below the tree line, so the forest here is very sparse and the trees small. Just beyond the lake the terrain becomes so rocky that the trees basically end.

I hiked here early on mid-July morning, starting at dawn and having the trail and this lake almost entirely to myself — at the height of Sierra summer tourist season! (One group did pass by on a nearby trail, but otherwise no one else was there.) The reflections in this lake of the steep and rocky terrain beyond are marvelous, and I considered a square format crop that eliminates the “distracting” sky and peak — and I still may do that!

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.