Tag Archives: boulders

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections

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Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections
The rocks at the bottom of a large talus field are reflected in still waters.

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rocks at the bottom of a large talus field are reflected in still waters.

The general area where we staying the Sierra backcountry last week featured lots of broken and fallen rock — partly from glacial sources and partly from later erosion — along with tall ridges that gave us hours of soft, shaded light in the morning and the evening. Broken talus slopes are common in the higher reaches of the Sierra, but this area seemed to have an exception amount of the stuff. These talus fields often contain mixtures of rock types, as they are frequently carried down from high peaks.

The talus slope photographed here was just across the lake from where we were camped, so I was able to walk over a few hours before the first sunlight finally made it over the peak to our east. The jumbled and jagged rocks and boulders covered the slope right down to (and beyond) the edge of the lake. In the shadow of the nearby mountain the light was soft and quite blue, the latter because almost all of the illumination was coming from that giant light panel we call the sky. I photographed for quite a while, until a breeze came up and broke the quiet surface of the water.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Nature

Fall Color, Birch Tree

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Fall Color, Birch Tree
A birch tree provides early autumn color in the Fontainebleau Forest, France

Fall Color, Birch Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A birch tree provides early autumn color in the Fontainebleau Forest, France

My first “fall” color photograph of 2018 comes from… France! We recently returned from a forty-day trip, mostly in Europe, and we were in France for most of the final two weeks. We started with a short return visit to Paris, but then we met other family members in the area near Barbizon and Fontainebleau. We were there for a full week, which gave us plenty of time to explore the area. One of the interesting features is a natural one, the forest of Fontainebleau. This is not like conifer forests of the American West where I spend so much of my time — the terrain is nearly flat (with only small hills) and the trees are mostly conifers. Fontainebleau also features some remarkable boulders, and I should be able to share some photographs of those later on.

In was, in fact, those boulders that brought us to the location where I made this photograph. We made a short hike into the forest and climbed one of those small hills to find it covered with the boulders. As others began to leave I stuck around a bit longer and found this birch tree that was just beginning to get fall color.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Quiet Forest

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Quiet Forest
A quiet and unremarkable forest scene in a peaceful corner of Yosemite Valley

Quiet Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quiet and unremarkable forest scene in a peaceful corner of Yosemite Valley

There are a few things about photography that we don’t often talk about too much. One of them is the fact that some days simply don’t bring remarkable light and conditions. Exceptional conditions are… exceptional. You increase your chances of photographing them if you are out there a lot, but this means that you also increase the chances that you’ll have some days when things seem a bit… dull. This was one of those days. Actually, it had been better earlier in the day and it promised to be good later on, but at the time of day when I made this photograph the light was somewhat “blah.”

So I strapped on my pack, grabbed my tripod, and went for a slow, lazy hike in an area that didn’t feature any particularly distinguishing iconic subjects. It was actually a wonderful walk. Having given up on the idea of finding brilliant light, the pressure was off, and I was free to wander slowly, looking around and going wherever it seemed interesting. At one point I crossed a bridge and decided to follow a little trail into forest along the shores of a river. A ways up that trail I though that rocks and trees off to one side looked interesting, so I left the trail and wandered off that direction, finally stopping to photograph some interesting tree bark patterns. Once I was set up it made sense to look around a bit, and I soon spotted this little scene with a path, some trees, and a large boulder.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
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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: Sierra Nevada

High Country Meadow and Trail

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High Country Meadow and Trail
A use trail cuts across a subalpine meadow high in the John Muir Wilderness

High Country Meadow and Trail. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A use trail cuts across a subalpine meadow high in the John Muir Wilderness

Earlier this afternoon we left our camp down at a lower lake and headed off into higher country. I followed a use trail up to a moraine ridge, then passed over a section of beautiful meadow with stunning views of surrounding peaks and closer views of late-season wildflowers. From here I simply followed the watershed up the valley a ways until a decent stream crossing presented itself, and from there I wandered across glaciated slabs to the top of a low ridge separating our valley from another containing several lakes.

It was late in the day, so the time available for lingering on the ridge was limited. I soon spotted Patty traversing a lower section of the slabs and I headed down to join her. We continued down to the creek where we had a moment of good light on a small lake before the sun dropped behind a high ridge and left us in shadow. As we continued down the drainage toward that meadow where we started the views to the south opened up and the evening light was still on the ridges. We stopped before descending to the meadow, and from here a narrow trail was visible as it traversed one side of the meadow just below a rocky section filled with old glacial erratics, with a dramatic backdrop of high peaks on the far side of the valley.

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