Tag Archives: blue

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

Pacific Ocean and Rock – Big Sur

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Pacific Ocean and Rock

Pacific Ocean and Rock. Big Sur, California. July 21, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of the Pacific Ocean with an offshore rock along the Big Sur coast of California.

These minimalist seascapes have been something of an on-going project for me during the past year or so. I’m intrigued by the sense of deep and quiet space in these views – best appreciated from outside of your car and away from the road. I have no idea how well they work as images for others, but they are a bit more complex to capture than you might think from a quick glance.

keywords: big, sur, california, landscape, nature, ocean, pacific ocean, seascape, seashore, summer, travel, usa, water, waves, sky, blue, reflection, island, rock, offshore, horizon, minimalism, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

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Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake
Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening along the tree-lined shore of Moraine Lake in Sequoia National Park, California.

Moraine Lake is located on the Chagoopa Plateau in the Sierra Nevada backcountry of Sequoia National Park, between Big Arroyo and the deep trench of Kern Canyon. Aside from being a bit windy when I’ve been there, it is a very peaceful spot – and a good warm place (relatively speaking) to swim. No surprise given its name, the opposite shore is formed by a lateral moraine that must have come from a glacier traveling down Big Arroyo, and there are lots of rocks everywhere. In fact, along the near shoreline they form a couple of little peninsulas that enclose shallows cut off from the main lake and which support a few trees like those in this photograph.

Most recently I was here in in early August of 2008, when I and a group of friends camped for a night on our trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal via the High Sierra Trail. Technically (OK, literally), Moraine Lake is not “on” the High Sierra Trail, being instead on a lateral loop that leaves the HS Trail on the Chagoopa Plateau to drop down to the lake, and which then continues to the loop to rejoin a few miles later. Oddly, it seems to me that most people who hike through here probably do take the alternative route past Moraine, with the exception of some hard-core hikers who walk far enough in a day to not need to camp on the Plateau.

keywords: evening, shore, shoreline, trees, moraine, lake, high, sierra, trail, nevada, backpack, hike, camp, clouds, reflection, rock, mountain, alpine, great western divide, peak, forest, grass, quiet, landscape, california, usa, sequoia, national park, stock, blue, sky

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap

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Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap
Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap as evening sun strikes peaks around the upper basin – Sequoia National Park, California.

Upper Hamilton Lake is located on the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National Park, and is the traditional camping spot before climbing over Kaweah Gap on the ridge in this photograph. I arrived there on August 6, 2008 on the second day of nine-day trans-Sierra backpacking trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney portal, and we left the next morning to climb the Gap and head to points east.

This photograph was made in the evening as the sun set, sending its light through the narrow opening of the canyon to the west toward the wall at the upper end of the lake – while the high ridge is still in sunlight the lake and surrounding slopes are already in shadow. The photograph was made from a position not more than ten or twelve feet from my campsite.

keywords: landscape, upper, hamilton, lake, kaweah, gap, great western, divide, ridge, mountain, pass, basin, cirque, water, reflection, evening, sunset, golden hour, blue, sky, clouds, forest, tree, brush, rock, talus, peak, alpine, sequoia, national park, california, usa, stock, backpack, hike, camp

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs

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Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs
Sunlight illuminates submerged boulders near the cliff face along the High Sierra Trail – Sequioa National Park.

Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight illuminates submerged boulders near the cliff face at a lake on the High Sierra Trail – Sequioa National Park.

I first visited this lake decades ago during a two-week trans-Sierra backpack trip along the High Sierra Trail. I recall arriving and recognizing it from a well-known 1932 Ansel Adams photograph, but I made no serious attempt to photograph it at the time. In the summer of 2008 I retraced the route with a group of friends, and on the third morning I again climbed the spectacular trail toward Kaweah Gap. After crossing a lovely section filled with springs, flowing water, and wildflowers the trail topped a rise and suddenly arrived at this lake. I spent a half hour or more photographing from the shoreline. Finally I finished, packed up my photography gear, and we started up the switchbacks toward the pass.

A moment later as the trail climbed above the lake I glanced back and saw a stunning sight as sun broke through the clouds and intermittently illuminated the submerged talus at the base of the cliffs. Ironically, my first reaction was to think, I just finished shooting, and I’m not going to take this pack off and set up all that gear again!” I almost kept going. Fortunately, I’ve learned my lesson a few times — shoot it now while you have the chance! — so I dropped my pack, set up my tripod and camera, and waited for the right light to appear as broken clouds moved overhead.

Notes:

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.