Tag Archives: black

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

Granite Cliff and Ledge – Upper Cathedral Lake

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Granite Cliff and Ledge - Upper Cathedral Lake

Granite Cliff and Ledge – Upper Cathedral Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fractured cliff face and bench with colorful lichens and trees near Upper Cathedral Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

During the last week of September I managed to squeeze in a very shot pack trip to Upper Cathedral Lakes, just out of Tuolumne Meadows in the Yosemite National Park high country, where I met five outstanding Yosemite photographers who were there for a week of shooting. Although I was only at the lake for perhaps 24 hours, I tried to make the best of it and I shot early and late all around the upper lake.

On the first evening I decided to explore some rocky gullies ascending above the lake on the side opposite from Cathedral Peak. The first gully I followed was very narrow and quite deep – I had to climb a good distance to finally find a spot where I could climb out of it onto the glacier-smoother dome-like formations above the lake. This photograph shows a tremendously fractured section of the wall of this gully, with the bases of a few trees included for scale.

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

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keywords: cliff, granite, rock, face, crack, fracture, pattern, bench, ledge, lichen, brown, green, black, gray, grass, tree, pine, trunk, branch, rock, boulder, snag, root, stain, cathedral, lake, upper, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, nature, wilderness, hike, backpack, camp, tuolumne, meadows, geology, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Tree and Windows

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Tree and Windows

Tree and Windows. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare branches of an urban tree with a few green leaves against a gray San Francisco building with white-framed windows.

I had the chance to spend a morning and part of an afternoon wandering around San Francisco on foot on the mid-August day. As I usually do, I took a 6:00 a.m. train to The City, arriving at about 7:00 a.m. This time I started out by walking up Fourth Street past Yerba Buena Gardens and continued on to Market Street. From there I walked though Chinatown (but mostly not on Grant) before the tourist shops opened and while the many grocery stores were dealing with huge shipments of produce dropped off on the sidewalks. I stopped briefly in North Beach for coffee before spending an hour or so shooting there and then taking a very quick walk past the madness at Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf before climbing up to Russian Hill before making it back to my return train. Whew!

I happened to notice a block full of these interesting trees in North Beach, not too far from Washington Park – and I especially liked this one with a tiny bit of green and backed by the black, white, and gray building.

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

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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keywords: san francisco, california, usa, urban, city, street, north beach, travel, scenic, downtown, building, home, tree, trunk, branch, bare, gray, green, leaves, window, white, frame, gray, wall, blinds, silhouette, landscape, light, fork, black, stock

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

Spring Azaleas, El Capitan Meadow

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Spring Azaleas, El Capitan Meadow

Spring Azaleas, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring azalea blossoms beneath the black oaks in El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley.

I found these white azaleas growing beneath the black oaks in El Capitan Meadow during my early June visit to the Valley. I photographed these same flowers last year during the fall when the flowers were long gone and the leaves were turning gaudy shades of red and yellow and eventually brown.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

keywords: azalea, blossom, bloom, flower, plant, leaf, green, el capitan, cap, meadow, black, oak, tree, grass, yosemite, valley, national, park, spring, season, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, mountain, sierra, nevada, range, california, usa, flora, stock

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

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove

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Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Burned forest near the Mariposa redwood grove in Yosemite National Park, California.

During my recent visit to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias in southern Yosemite National Park I hiked up the main trail through the grove. While the forest and occasional redwood tree to my left were certainly interesting, my attention was drawn to the burned area to the right. The trail in places followed the very edge of fairly recent wildfire, and in some spots crossed it.

I am fascinated with forest fire areas and how we perceive them. As a kid I remember learning from Smokey the Bear that forest fires are a tragic thing. But later I became less certain, and I came to view the wild fires as a natural and periodic element of a healthy forest. Aside from the human tragedies can accompany wildfires, I began to change my perspective on the aesthetic value of these burned areas, and I learned to see a certain stark beauty in them. A recently burned forest like this one is not necessarily an ugly thing if you look at it this way. The open light, verticals of black and gray, the intense brown of singed leaves and needles, the contrast with the reddish-brown of the forest floor, and the appearance of scattered new growth all create a special landscape. And a few years later as the cycle starts again and wildflowers and bushes grow wildly there can be a riot of color below the skeletons of the old trees.

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

keywords: forest, tree, burn, char, scar, fire, wild fire, aftermath, brown, bare, growth, green, gray, black, mariposa, redwood, sequoia, grove, landscape, nature, travel, ecology, environment, fallen, california, usa, yosemite, national park, stock