Tag Archives: brush

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

Late Season Subalpine Meadow and Creek

December 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A dry creekbed meanders through a boulder-filled golden late-season Sierra Nevada meadow at sunset near Evelyn Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is another view of the “backyard” of my solo-backpacking camp site near Evelyn Lake back in early September of this year. Dusk has fallen across the meadow and the twisting creekbed leading to the lake, but a bit of alpenglow lingers on the clouds beyond the tree-lined ridge.

This photograph is evidence of the early onset of “fall” in the high country. Although the equinox was still nearly two weeks away, the plants here had lost their summer appearance – the meadow was almost entirely brown or golden and the small creek, which would contribute to the flooding of this lakeside meadow earlier in the season had already stopped flowing.

(By starting my “fall” season in late summer in the high country I can manage to experience fall colors for at least three months every year!. I often see the first hints of the change in the highest country even earlier than the date of this photograph. Then by late September and early October the Sierra aspen color show is in full swing. By the end of the month I can find great colors at lower elevations on the west side of the range, such as in Yosemite Valley. After that the colors continue to develop through November in the coastal areas of central and northern California, and here in the SF Bay Area there are still a lot of fall colors to be seen.)

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Three Aspen Trunks, Lichen Covered Rocks

November 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three small aspen trees with fall color leaves among small plants grow from a crack in lichen-covered rocks – Sierra Nevada, California near South Lake.

Yet another variation on the “bare aspen trunks with some leaves, photographed against granite” theme – I can’t help myself! :-)

This is another of several photographs I made along the road below Parcher’s Resort on the way to South Lake in the eastern Sierra above Bishop, California. At this early October point in the season there are almost endless ways to approach photography of aspens – still-green aspens, aspens barely starting to change color, newly colorful aspens among still-green aspens, aspens at the height of their yellow/orange/red color, aspens past peak starting to thin a bit, aspens with only a few beautiful leaves remaining (and the rest littering the ground beneath), aspen trunks bare of any leaves and waiting for the winter to arrive – and all of these shot in an infinite variety of light, in an infinite variety of settings, with an infinite variety of compositions.

So I hope no one minds if I continue to post a few more. :-)

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

McGee Creek Pack Station, Autumn Snow Storm

October 28, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Snow flurries from an early autumn storm mask the high peaks above the McGee Creek Pack Station in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.

When I’m driving back from the Bishop area I often make a few odd stops at special little places along highway 395 at which I think I might find something special, and the McGee Creek Canyon is one of these places. The canyon is just a short drive above the north-south highway, and in the right conditions it can provide really wonderful scenes – the aspens that grow along the road to the canyon, the views back into and across the valley to peaks beyond, intimate scenes of high desert rocks and vegetation, and from the road end up the steep-sided canyon toward the alpine headwalls of the canyon.

On this early October 2009 day I was returning from shooting near Bishop Creek in light snow and thought I might get some interesting views of aspen color (which didn’t really happen) and the view up McGee Canyon, so I turned off of 395 and headed on up. From previous visits I knew of this specific view from along the gravel road right above the pack station, so I already had it in mind as I arrived. When I saw the cloud-shrouded peaks at the end of the canyon and the foreground light I quickly stopped and set up. The cloud shadows were moving quickly and, unfortunately, heading my direction so I had to work very quickly – and I had just enough time to make this one exposure with the light on the area around the pack station before the light was gone.

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

Early Autumn Snow, Conway Summit

October 18, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Aspen trees begin to change color after an early autumn snow storm at Conway Summit, Sierra Nevada, California.

Back in September I began making plans to visit the eastern Sierra near the end of the month and during early October, and based on previous experience with fall Sierra aspen color I made some assumptions about when and where the color might be at its peak. This year has not evolved according to expectations. I would have expected the huge aspen groves below highway 395 at Conway Summit to be nearing or at peak color during the first weekend of October… but instead the trees here were largely still green with only a few spots of real color. It seems like the low and middle elevation aspens are behind schedule this year.

However, as if to temper the slight disappointment about the lack of brilliant colors, I did get to visit during an early fall cold snap and storm passage that dropped anywhere from a trace to a few inches of snow over a good portion of the Sierra – including the peaks above Conway Summit.

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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