Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Cranes, Sunrise

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Cranes, Sunrise
Cranes fly above sun rising though fog and haze

Cranes, Sunrise. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cranes fly above sun rising though fog and haze

The past few weeks have not been kind to California, with yet another very dry fall leading to some extraordinarily serious late-season wildfires. In particular, the historic and tragic toll of the “Camp Fire” is on our minds. In addition to those in the area directly affected by the fire, many Californians who live elsewhere in the state have friends who lost their homes and worse. And all across the state unhealthy levels of smoke have affected millions of Californians. (As I write this, we are finally getting our first real weather front of the season and the smoke levels are diminishing a bit.)

I have long pondered how to deal with these conditions photographically. Some years ago I realized that managed fires are a good thing for our environment (and even help reduce the likelihood of first like we recently experienced), but it has still been a challenge to find ways to make “beautiful” photographs of such things. I recently made this photograph on a morning when the air was still thick with this smoke, combined with fog, almost completely muting the light of the rising sun.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline Meadow And Forest

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Shoreline Meadow And Forest
September light on forest and meadow lining the shore of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Shoreline Meadow And Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

September light on forest and meadow lining the shore of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Having set up a base camp nearby and remained there for slightly more than a week, I got to know this lake and its surroundings very well during my September 2018 visit. Because of the high ridges to the north and south, the length of time when the area was in the direct sun was shorter than is typical in such places at this time of year — we have a couple of hours at the start and end of the day when the lake fell into the shadow of these great ridges. But when that sun did come out the light was often glorious.

At this elevation, close to 11,000′, the eastern Sierra trees become quite short and their grow in an open manner that allows a lot of light to penetrate. (Hence, the “range of light!”) There was forest around this lake, but much of it was composed of these smaller, high elevation trees. Along the shoreline where I made this photograph, a meadow like area descended from the left to a narrow band of grasses lining the lake’s shore. Trees grew on the rocky rise along this side of the lake, perhaps an old moraine. When I made the photograph the light was coming through from the right at a low angle, and there was a bit of haze between my position and the high ridge in the distance.

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

Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections

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Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections
A rocky peninsula, an alpine lake, reflections of the headwall in evening light

Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rocky peninsula, an alpine lake, reflections of the headwall in evening light

In high places like this, where cirque walls tower over alpine lakes and block the light early and late in the day, evening quiet can come early. I had been walking to this spot almost daily for several days to try to make a photograph of a particular group of trees that caught the last sunlight in the late afternoon. On this day my timing was (finally!) right, and after I made that photograph I turned my attention to the rest of the scene, which was now in shadow.

To my left a small rocky peninsula pushed out into the lake near its outlet stream and supported a few trees and small plants that could gain a foothold it its cracks. Across the lake piles of talus lay at the bottom of the solid rock face of the valley’s headwall, where one snow patch remained, reflected in the quiet surface of the lake. That surface also reflected the rest of the face, including parts so high that they are not in direct view. The entire scene was illuminated by the soft blue light coming from the open sky above and behind me.

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

Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light

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Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light
Late afternoon light on a rocky peninsula on a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon light on a rocky peninsula on a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

This is a photograph that required a bit of persistence! During our September stay in the Eastern Sierra Nevada backcountry, I first walked up to this lake several days before I made this photograph. When I arrived for the first time I made a guess as to where I might find a photograph, but the guess was wrong! As the light faded I tried a different spot, and I found a good one, but I missed the best light. I made a mental note to come back, and even noted the specific spot to be in. A day or two later I headed back in that direction late in the day, with plenty of time to get there before the good light arrived… but then I got distracted by some other attraction, spent too much time on it, and arrived at this lake — you guessed it! — about three minutes too late! However, I did have a bit more time to consider the location and timing of the shot I had it mind.

I went back one more time, and this third time was almost not a charm. I got there plenty early and found my spot well before the good light… and discovered a woman set on fishing from the lovely rocks on the peninsula in the center of the photograph! Since I was early I decided to wait quietly and not try to convince her to get out of my shot, but I did explain what I was there for. I waited. She continued to fish. I began the internal debate about just how aggressive I should be about trying to get the shot. I think she figured out that I really wanted this photograph, since about five minutes before I made it she moved on to another spot on the other side of the rock. (She continued to fish, and I had to time my exposures between her casts, when sent line right into the water beyond the rocks.) In the end my persistence paid off, and I got a photograph that I like — to me it seems to capture that lovely late-day, late-summer light in the high country, and it even includes some really lovely color in the water. I finished the photography here… and had time left over for a short hike to the top of a nearby pass before the light faded.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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