Tag Archives: big

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

Autumn Leaves, Yosemite

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Autumn Leaves, Yosemite
Fallen big leaf maple leaves along a Yosemite Valley trail

Autumn Leaves, Yosemite. Yosemite Valley, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fallen big leaf maple leaves along a Yosemite Valley trail

I suppose it would not truly be autumn without at least one photograph of fallen leaves littering the forest floor! I made this photograph on a walk along the south side of a quiet section of trail in Yosemite Valley where big leaf maple trees grow. Along with black oaks and dogwoods, these trees produce some of the most interesting fall colors in The Valley. The big leaf maples often grow among conifers and in autumn their brilliant yellow leaves contrast with the darker and more somber tones of the other forest trees.

Just before I made this photograph I had been looking for the actual trees, and trying to find some that were separated enough from their surroundings to stand out in a photograph. In this particular location that turned out to be difficult. There were some lovely big leaf maples, but the lighting was a challenge and they often were too interspersed with dense forest. At about that point I thought to look down, and I saw thick piles of the large leaves alongside the trail.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Big Leaf Maple, Forest Trail

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Big Leaf Maple, Forest Trail
A forest trail winds past big leaf maple trees with fall colors in Yosemite Valley

Big Leaf Maple, Forest Trail. Yosemite Valley, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A forest trail winds past big leaf maple trees with fall colors in Yosemite Valley

This was a busy day! I described it in an earlier post, but here is a brief recap. I started in Oakhurst before dawn, heading out to photograph sunrise at Glacier Point — but I didn’t make it after I became distracted by a lovely forest scene along the way. Then I photographed wildfire smoke east of Glacier Point, returned to The Valley to shoot fall color, lost patience with the crowds and smoke, headed to Tioga Pass, and ended the day photographing sunset light on snow-dusted granite slabs. Whew!

In the middle of the day I spent a brief time in The Valley before heading back to the high country. The crowds were shocking, especially for this late October date. I left my car and headed out on foot, going into an area with lots of big leaf maple trees. This is also a location where I know I can find not only a bit of solitude but also some very special light. Here the forest sometimes opens toward a very large expanse of vertical granite, and this rock acts as a gigantic reflector, casting soft light back into shaded areas along the opposite canyon wall. It was here that I stopped to photograph this quiet little autumn scene, with a deserted trail passing through the open forest.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Mules Ears Flower

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Mules Ears Flower
A spring mules ears flower in the early stages of decay.

Mules Ears Flower. Santa Clara County, California. April 29, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spring mules ears flower in the early stages of decay.

Someone suggested that this might simply be called “The World’s Saddest Flower.” It also occurred to me that it might be a fine metaphor for certain political events currently transpiring, or possibly for a number of other things. I find a kind of poignant beauty in this flower, still brilliantly colorful but also clearly falling into decay.

I found this flower on a short hike at a place not far from where I live, a spot that I have gone to for perhaps twenty years in spring to find local wildflowers. It is not a place that most would find remarkable — in fact, I was able to hear urban sounds including heavy equipment in the distance — but it is a place that I know well. I knew that I would find certain flowers — blue dicks, larkspur, Chinese lanterns, California poppies, and a few others — but this one was a surprise. I had never seen it or anything similar in this place, and I wasn’t sure of what it might be. Friends who know more about flowers than I do suggested that it is probably mules ears — a very sad specimen at this point!

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Big Sur, Winter

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Big Sur, Winter
Sediment from flowing streams and landslides colors the water along the Big Sur Coast near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Big Sur, Winter. Big Sur Coast, California. January 5, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sediment from flowing streams and landslides colors the water along the Big Sur Coast near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Some viewers who know this coast very, very well might understand why this photograph could have been titled, “Not McWay Fall.” In an example of looking the “wrong” direction, this photograph looks north along the Big Sur coast in the afternoon, when the light comes in from the west and perhaps begins to warm a bit, and on a beautiful winter day, on the heels of a big storm, when the air is very, very clear and the water is intensely blue.

Looking closely you probably also notice some other colors in the water. Various things can color the coastal waters — seasonal or time of day variations, the quality of the light, reflections, algae, and much more. There are a few spots along this coast where the water is always a surprising color, for example where sandy shoals in shallow, protected water lighten it. Several things were at work here on this day. Coastal creeks were in full flow, carrying their sediment loads down to the coast and emptying into the ocean. In this particular location there was a very large and probably still active landslide that had delivered a lot of earth to the beach, where the surf was gradually pulling it into the water and staining the ocean brown.

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 | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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