Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Reyes

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Point Reyes
Black and white photograph of Point Reyes and the Pacific Ocean with afternoon reflections.

Point Reyes. Point Reyes National Seashore, California. June 1, 2008. © Copyright 2008 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brilliant afternoon light on the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes.

Black and white photograph of Point Reyes and the Pacific Ocean with afternoon reflections. This photograph was made in extraordinarily windy conditions from a high point a bit further along the bluffs of the point with late afternoon sunlit brightly illuminating the ocean surface. (There is also a color version of this photograph in the queue, and it should show up here soon.)

There are several things that I like about this photograph. First, the memory of the circumstances of the photograph is a powerful one. Point Reyes is a wild and windy place, well out in the Pacific and facing out to see – usually with strong winds blowing. On this day the winds were incredible; so strong that it was all I could do to get a steady shot even while holding tightly to the tripod, which was lowered down to near the ground. And the reflection off of the ocean surface was astonishingly bright – impressive in its own right and a real photographic challenge. Finally, I like the way that the land of Point Reyes seems to extend only tentatively into what is primarily an ocean photograph.

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: Sierra Nevada

Forest in Reflected Light, Kern River

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Kern River Forest
“Forest in Reflected Light” — Forest scene along the Kern River in Sequoia National Park, California

In the middle of my August 2008 trans-Sierra backpack trip we spent a morning walking up the 7.5 miles between Kern Hot Springs and Junction Meadow in the upper Kern Canyon. Since I’m fond of higher country I wasn’t expecting too much on this day, but I was happy to encounter a wonderful lighting situation that I’ve seen before in Yosemite and similar valleys: the western canyon walls were in full sunlight and reflecting beautiful, warm, diffuse light across the river into the shaded forest on the east side where I photographed these trees and ferns.

A bit more about this trip. I had previously done this route — the High Sierra Trail — from the western reaches of Sequoia national Park, over the Kaweahs, down into the Kern, the up and over the Sierra Crest with a side trip to Mt. Whitney before exiting at Whitney Portal. This time I went with a group of backpacking friends, and it was wonderful to revisit this landscape.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ascending to Kaweah Gap

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Ascending to Kaweah Gap
“Ascending to Kaweah Gap” — Caroline Reutter passes wildflowers on the High Sierra Trail as the route ascends to Kaweah Gap

My friend Caroline ascends the High Sierra Trail toward Kaweah Gap above Upper Hamilton Lake in Sequoia National Park, California on the morning of the third day of a 9-day trans-Sierra pack trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal.

The High Sierra Trail crosses the entire range between Crescent Meadow in the west and Whitney Portal in the east, and travels through Sequoia National Park with the exception of the section to the east of Whitney Trail Crest. This portion above Upper Hamilton Lake ascends about 2500′ rather steeply to Kaweah Gap, a beautiful pass over the Great Western Divide by which the trail reaches Big Arroyo and the Kern River drainage.

In this photo Caroline has finished most of the very steep initial ascent above Hamilton Lake and is crossing an area of many streams and meadows and flowers shortly before arriving at Precipice Lake, from which it is only a short distance to the Gap.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

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Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake
Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake. Sequoia National Park, California. August 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn along the tree-lined shore of Moraine Lake in Sequoia National Park, California. Moraine Lake is along the “High Sierra Trail” route between Crescent Meadow in the western Sierra and Whitney Portal on the east side of the range. This photograph was made last week as I crossed the range from west to east with a group of friends – who were all still warm in their sleeping bags while I arose before dawn to prowl the lakeshore and get this sunrise photograph.

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