Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Black Point

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Black Point
Mono Lake and Black Point

Black Point. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mono Lake and Black Point.

Mono Lake and the basin it occupies make up a huge and diverse area with all sorts of attractions. The lake itself is usually regarded as the most striking feature — it is a massive, landlocked body of water filled by runoff from the eastern Sierra, whose peaks form the backdrop to the west. It sits on the western edge of the basin and range country that stretches east for many hundred of miles. And there are subjects on a more intimate scale, too, ranging from tufa towers to the abundant birdlife. It is also a place of volcanism, with craters in and extending south from the lake. And for me one of the most impressive features is the expanse of the place, with views extending across vast distances.

This feature, also volcanic, sits along the northern shoreline of the lake. While is easy to view from afar, it isn’t quite so simple to get to it, and consequently it is not a crowded place at all. In the lower portion of the photograph the lake’s waters meet its gentle shoreline, where water levels have dropped, in more recent times largely due to water withdrawn from tributary streams and sent to the LA area.

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

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light

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Lake And Mountains, Morning Light
High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake.

Our group spent a week base-camped in this location a few years ago, getting to know the area intimately and photographing it and its surroundings extensively. The spot is quite beautiful, but many of its beauties don’t reveal themselves immediately. In fact, when I passed by here some years earlier I don’t recall even stopping! My only memory is of walking past a campsite and continuing toward my more distant goal. But a week spent in such a place — or almost any similar place — inevitably turns up treasures that are overlooked when passing through.

It turned out that a short walk in any of several directions took us to all sorts of photographic subjects: wildflower-filled meadows, granite slab country, streams meandering through timberline meadows, expansive views. In most cases “short walk” meant something between ten minutes and perhaps an hour. In the case of this photograph it meant “5 minute amble before breakfast!”

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Lake and Mountains, Morning

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Lake and Mountains, Morning
Morning mists and light above a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

Lake and Mountains, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning mists and light above a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park.

There is no hiding the fact that this is a popular and sometimes crowded location in Yosemite National Park’s high country. Since this lake is along the Tioga Pass Road route though the park between Tuolumne Meadows (and interesting points farther east) and Yosemite Valley (and most of California!), on busy August days it can be almost oppressively crowded. However, even then, if you go at the right times you can avoid most of the crowds and busy-ness,” and there’s a special bonus: the most beautiful times of the day are often the least crowded!

I’m usually out and about before dawn since I don’t want to miss the beautiful early light or the peace and quiet of the early hours. I had already been up and photographing for some time when I stopped on my way back toward camp to make this photograph. But even as I was wrapping up my morning’s work, most of the people who would show up here later were still sleeping in, having a big breakfast, or perhaps still driving from distant locations. Consequently, I experienced this lovely morning light and atmosphere in near solitude and peaceful quiet.

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wildflower-filled Meadow

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Wildflower-filled Meadow
A wildflower-filled meadow in San Luis Obispo County, California

Wildflower-filled Meadow. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

wildflower-filled meadow in San Luis Obispo County, California.

This photograph has been sitting on my desktop for several months now, almost since the time we came back from a spectacular visit to California spring wildflowers, followed by several days spend photographing in Death Valley National Park. I share it perhaps less as a brilliant photographic object, and more as a witness to the excellent and extensive spring bloom we had this year, brought on by above-average rainfall in February.

This location is in the south-central California inland hills between the coast and the Central Valley. During much of the year this country of grassland and oak woodlands is quite dry, and portions of it would impress you as being nearly a desert. But in these wet years the place comes alive for a few months in California fashion. Sometime in winter, when much of the rest of the country is freezing and perhaps under snow, the rains come and new grasses and other plants sprout. Yes, we’re brown in summer here… but we can be “impossibly green” in winter. Over the next few month, typically up until the first part of April, there is a crescendo of green, climaxed by sometimes-astonishing wildflowers… like this bed of yellow flowers spreading across a meadow.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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