Tag Archives: black

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky

3 Comments
Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky

Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn black oak branches and leaves silhouetted against blue sky, Yosemite Valley, California.

Believe it or not, one of the difficult things about photographing in the Sierra Nevada is… the weather is too nice! Sometimes for weeks on end it seems that you might see only perfect blue skies… boring perfect blue skies! When I visited Yosemite around Halloween this year to photograph fall color in the Valley I was really hoping for the same sort of “awful” weather I had last year – two days of rain and mist and clouds. Instead I got weather that seemed more like late summer than autumn.

So, what the heck, if the shapes and colors of the Valley’s oaks appear overhead with the “perfect blue sky” as a backdrop perhaps I’m supposed to photograph them against the perfect blue sky. All joking aside, I was attracted to the intense and saturated of the color of the sparse leaves on this tree, made all the more intense by the sun shining through their translucent shapes from behind and the almost monochrome shapes of the branches, and contrasted with the deep blue of the sky.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, blue, sky, black, oak, tree, branches, leaf, leaves, form, curve, gold, brown, yellow, silhouette, stock

Commentary

Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

Leave a comment
Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color of oak trees in morning light at El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, California.

It hardly looks like Halloween, but that’s when I made this photograph. I spent two days in the Valley over the October 31-November 1 weekend this fall – as I do every year – with the goal of photographing autumn conditions. I’ve photographed and described this spot so many times already that I’ll keep the description shot this time, but these black oaks grow in El Capitan Meadow at the base of the famous granite cliff and they catch beautiful light this time of year throughout the day.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, meadow, el capitan, cap, grass, brown, green, yellow, gold, black, oak, autumn, leaves, trunk, branch, tall, canopy, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Yosemite

LeConte Memorial Lodge, Autumn Oak Leaves

Leave a comment
LeConte Memorial Lodge, Autumn Oak Leaves

LeConte Memorial Lodge, Autumn Oak Leaves. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn Oak leaves hang in front of the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California.

Historic LeConte Lodge is located near the base of the cliffs along the south side of Yosemite Valley not far from the Housekeeping camp. The lodge was closed when I visited in early November, perhaps for the season, but the oak trees in front of the building were in full autumn color.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, historic, leconte, memorial, lodge, stone, window, black, oak, branch, leaves, color, yellow, brown, golder, roof, shingles, peak, steep, national, landmark, building, structure, stock, club

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

Leave a comment
Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color in a meadow near Yosemite Falls – Yosemite Valley, California.

I decided to push the boundaries of “ideal shooting time” on this one – it was made less than an hour before noon in midday light that might often have me starting to take my midday break. I think two things made it possible to shoot this subject in this somewhat difficult light. First, the light coming through the leaves of these black oaks (and to some extent the cottonwoods in the distance) creates an effect that it not typical of midday shooting. Secondly, the deeply shaded cliff walls along the south side of The Valley gave me a background that was not harshly lit. (The bright grasses in the meadow were a bit tough, but I think they are under control here.)

It might surprise some to find out that this landscape image was made using a relatively long lens – a 70-200mm zoom at about 130mm. Here it helped me control the composition – making the trees seem a bit closer to one another and affecting the area of the cliff seen beyond.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, color, yellow, gold, green, orange, brown, golden, meadow, grass, black, oak, pine, cottonwood, tree, grove, forest, cliff, rock, wall, village, falls, foliage, stock