Tag Archives: boulder

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

After the Rain

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After the Rain
“After the Rain” — Rain-slicked rocks in a subalpiine meadow as a Sierra storm clears.

This photograph evokes memories of a whole range of sensory experiences in the Sierra. Some are specific to the time and place where the photograph was made, but others are more generalized. There’s something compelling about backcountry rain and the experience of its passage. We think of the Sierra as the “range of light,” but a storm changes everything — the light, the colors, the air, the smells, and even the sound.

This time it had rained since the previous afternoon, hard enough to keep us in our tents and away from photography. Shortly after midday it slowed to a light drizzle, and we were able to escape the tents and head out with camera gear. Nearby was an outcropping where the rocks where still shiny with rain, and in the distance post-rain fog was drifting among the peaks.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Patterns In Water and Stone

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Patterns In Water and Stone
Granite shapes, colors, and textures reflected in still water, Sierra Nevada.

Patterns In Water and Stone. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Granite shapes, colors, and textures reflected in still water, Sierra Nevada.

Back in September I made my first summer visit of the year to the Yosemite high country. It isn’t ‘like me to miss almost an entire season up there, but we were traveling elsewhere this summer. To say the least, I was overdue to a visit to “my” mountains! I spent a few days camped just below the crest outside of Yosemite, and photographed both inside the park and along the eastern escarpment of the range.

This photograph comes from inside the park, at a place that has a bit of history in our family. When our (now grown) “kids” were very young, it was my tradition to introduce them to backpacking when they were three-years-old, and the trips always started at the trailhead next to this pond. The hike to our overnight camp was all of 1.2 miles, but to a small child I’m sure it counted as a major expedition. So, having an afternoon free during last month’s visit, I decided to go back and day-hike this little route. I made the photograph as I returned from the walk.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

A Dark Corner

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A Dark Corner
Boulders, fallen leaves, and a tree trunk in shadow along the base of a Yosemite Valley cliff.

A Dark Corner. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Boulders, fallen leaves, and a tree trunk in shadow along the base of a Yosemite Valley cliff.

I made this photograph in Yosemite Valley during the difficult midday hours — difficult because the light is not as intrinsically beautiful at this time of day. Out in the open it the can be harsh, and inside the forest’s shade too many light beams break through the canopy. But I don’t want to write off so many hours of the day, so I often continue to look for compositions, seeing out shading places, haze, and subjects with some kind of graphic quality.

In the early afternoon I took a lazy hike along the base of one of the great granite cliffs in the Valley. I wanted to visit a spot where I know water would meet the valley after cascading down granite cliffs. I hoped to go right to the base of the cascade… but there was too much water! So I wandered in a different direction and noticed this old, dark tree trunk in the shadow of giant boulder.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Trees and Boulders

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Trees and Boulders
Trees grow behind a large boulder below Yosemite Valley cliffs.

Trees and Boulders. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Trees grow behind a large boulder below Yosemite Valley cliffs.

This photograph and its companion (to be published here within a day) are both black and white — which I suppose connects to my earliest roots as a photographer. Decades ago when I was a child my father encouraged me and my siblings to make photographs, first using old-school Brownie cameras and later graduating to his loaners. Before long he took us into his home darkroom (a temporarily converted bathroom) and taught us to make prints. He also had a collection of photography books on a shelf that I could reach. The first landscape photograph I recall making — black and white of course — was in Yosemite Valley.

This one comes from my late May epic one-day up-and-back trip to photograph in the Valley. While the best light is early and late, on these quick visits there’s no time to waste, and I keep at it almost all day long. I made this photograph in the mid-afternoon, beneath cliffs on the north side of the Valley. This photograph posed a significant technical challenge, as the difference between the deeply shaded rock face and the brightly lit clouds at upper right was extreme. What to do? Approach like any old school photographer and make an exposure with sufficient image data to bring it to life in post!

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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