Tag Archives: black and white

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest, After Snow

March 11, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Densely intertwining forest trees after a Yosemite Valley snow storm

My previous day in Yosemite Valley had drawn to a close as snow showers dropped a few inches of snow. A blustery and cold little weather front had arrived, bringing showers — the sort of weather than gives you a few minutes of impressive snowfall, followed moments later by the light breaking through. On my way out of the Valley — I was staying up at Wawona — I had stopped to photograph it before starting that snowy drive back to my cabin.

I suspected that the weather would clear the next morning and that bright light and new-fallen snow could turn out to be my subject. My first thought had been to head for Tunnel View, not usually my first choice for Yosemite Valley photography at this point, but potentially very beautiful in these conditions. But when I arrived there the completely clear skies produced a rather mundane sort of scene, at least by comparison to what I had hoped for. (I know… that view is never actually “mundane,” but I’m more likely to photograph it when something really special happens these days.) But further down in the Valley I passed an area of skeletal trees, mostly without leaves or needles, that still held snow and was back-lit. The location was about as non-iconic as you can find in the Valley, but I stopped and wandered off into this forest scene to photograph the patters of branches, trunks, and snow.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Forest, Evening Light

March 6, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Soft evening light and haze illuminate a meadow clearing with silhouetted trees

It was late on a clear winter day, and I found myself in Yosemite Valley, in an area of trees and meadows. My first objective was group of riverside trees that were catching the early evening light coming up the Valley from the west. Soon the cliffs along the north side of the Valley cast shadows across these trees, so I moved on, following the shadow-sun line to the southwest as I crossed meadows.

Ahead a row of trees cut across the meadow along the route of a trail. A management fire was burned a bit to the west — incinerating trees that died in the drought of the past few years — and the smoke drifted, producing a gentle haze in the evening light. I found a break in the trees, with a meadow and back-lit trees on the far side, and above more trees fading into the haze toward faint cliff silhouettes. I made a quick series of exposures, and then then light was gone.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Curving Trees, Falling Snow

March 1, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Snow falls among winter dormant trees in a Yosemite meadow

I have known for a month or so that I’d be in Yosemite for the last full week of February. That lead-in month was a very strange one for California weather. We had virtually no precipitation, and warm temperatures often made if feel more like summer than winter. These are not happy conditions for wintertime photography in the park, when a lot of the plant life is dormant and when snow and storm clouds usually provide more interesting conditions.

But immediately upon my arrival — literally the first moments I spent in the Valley — the weather changed. Not only did winter weather return, but it did so with a vengeance, and temperatures dropped much lower than would be typical for the date. On most days of my stay there were at least some clouds and on several days there was snowfall. The day I made this photograph brought the most daytime snow. In the afternoon a weak front worked its way into the Valley, and there were periodic snow showers. I headed to a tree-filled meadow when this shower arrived, and there I photographed juxtapositions of the interestedly shaped trees silhouetted against the falling snow.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Layers, Contre-Jour

February 27, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People sitting in Metropolitan Museum windows, plus worlds on both sides

This is yet another take on the scene in this room at the New York Metropolitan Museum, on a cold day when hordes of people went to a warm museum instead of wandering outside. The window faces south, into the midday and afternoon sun, and the window sills provided an inviting and warm place for people to sit. I spend a bit of time here and observed as people passed by, came in and sat down, and moved on.

There may be more going on here than is immediately apparent. The first impression is of a half-dozen people sitting in or near the windows, with outdoor backlight providing the illumination. (Hence the “contre-jour” indication in the title of the photograph.) But there are several other layers. In the far distance Manhattan buildings near the south end of Central Park, whose trees are providing silhouetted shapes below the skyline. There are also reflections from the interior of this room in the windows — keep in mind that elements near my camera position were front-lit by the windows. There is actually quite a crowd reflected in the windows, and if you look closely you can even spot the photographer.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: black and white

Forest, After Snow

Meadow, Forest, Evening Light

Curving Trees, Falling Snow

Layers, Contre-Jour

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.