Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Snow, Last Light On Granite

November 3, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Last evening light on glaciated granite dusted by autumn snow.

The path to this photograph was a long and convoluted one, and it was certainly not what I was planning on when my day began. I had arrived in the Yosemite area the prior morning, planning to photograph autumn subjects in The Valley before heading over to Oakhurst for the opening reception for the final run of last year’s Yosemite Renaissance Exhibit. I arrived in Yosemite Valley to find it filled with smoke (and a surprising number of October visitors), but I found subjects that could work in this conditions and set about photographing. This is the time for fall color in The Valley, with lots of beautiful leaves on big leaf maple, dogwood, oak and other trees. In the evening I went over to Oakhurst in time to enjoy the reception, where I had an opportunity to see the 2017 version of the show one last time with friends and fellow artists.

I was up well before dawn the next morning with a general plan of heading to Glacier Point for sunrise. However, a beautiful, forested valley full of dogwood and other fall color intervened, and by the time I finished there it was clear that I wasn’t going to make my goal by dawn or even close to it. I did go on up to near Glacier Point, where I photographed wildfire smoke before deciding to go back to The Valley and photograph more trees. I did so, and I had some successes, but by mid-afternoon the crowds and smoke were becoming oppressive, to I decided to make what might be my final trip of the season up to Tioga Pass. Without stopping to photograph, I made it to the pass in the late afternoon. I soon started back down to begin my long drive back to the Bay Area. As I passed the closed-for-the-winter Tuolumne store I saw a familiar van and some tripods standing nearby, so I quickly stopped to see that a couple of friends were there. We talked for a long time — longer than I expected — but I finally tore myself away with little more than a half hour of daylight left. I started west, not sure if I would stop to photograph, but I soon saw that it was going to be a beautiful evening. The smoke was gone up here, the air was clear, and the warm colors of evening were on the peaks. I quickly stopped at a familiar place, but pointed my lens at a less-familiar subject — a series of retreating granite ridges marked by new snow and lit by the final light of the evening.

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

Wildfire, Forest, Early Morning

November 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early morning smoke from a wildfire drifts through a Yosemite National Park forest

This is the second in what will almost certainly be a series of photographs I made of this wildfire in late October. The fire — the Empire Fire — started in the region south of Yosemite Valley, covering terrain ranging from the Bridal Veil Creek area to the broad valley east of Glacier Point Road, and in many places burning right along that driving route. At one point the road had been closed, but by the time of my visit it had reopened. The fire was not longer spreading rapidly, but was instead in that slow-burning phase that may actually be beneficial to Sierra forests.

I ended up here almost by accident. I originally planned to be at Glacier Point by dawn, but other photographic subjects distracted and ultimately delayed me. By the time I arrived here the sun had cleared the mountains of the Sierra crest and the light was reaching down into the valley. But the air was still on this morning and the smoke settled and drifted slowly among the trees and mountains. I found a position well above the smoke and spent almost an hour looking for the beauty in this scene, one that might initially conjure up thoughts of destruction, but which eventually does have a kind of stark beauty. As the morning continued, the wind began to gradually pick up, the smoke rose to and above my position (making breathing difficult) and eventually the smoke simply began to uniformly obscure the landscape — and I moved on.

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

Forest, Wildfire Smoke

October 31, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Smoke from the Empire Fire drifts among forest trees in the early morning

In late October I spent a few days photographing in and around Yosemite National Park. I was in the area for the opening reception for the last hurrah of this year’s Yosemite Renaissance Exhibit, which has been installed at Gallery Five in Oakhurst. I took advantage of the visit to photograph various autumn subjects including the (somewhat early this year) fall colors in Yosemite Valley. But I also photographed another Sierra Nevada fall subject that we often aren’t as easily attracted to, namely wildfire smoke.

Like most Americans brought up with Smokey The Bear, I used to think that wildfires were uniformly evil things. We are more enlightened today, and we now understand that fire is actually a healthy part of the forest ecosystem. (Some fires at not so healthy, such as some during recent years that have completely destroyed large areas of forest.) Periodic fire clears out underbrush and forest litter, doesn’t kill mature trees, and tends to prevent the truly dangerous fires may otherwise occur. While I understand this intellectually, it has been harder for me to begin to see wildfires as attractive photographic subjects. However, on this morning, it was a bit easier! I had decided to get up early and head for Glacier Point at dawn — but I was soon distracted by an opportunity to photograph autumn dogwood trees. By the time I finished that I knew that I wasn’t close to being on schedule for dawn at Glacier Point, but I decided to head that direction anyway. As the road turns toward Glacier Point and overlooks a vast expanse of Sierra to the east, the view of this valley filled with early morning smoke that

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Aspen Color

October 29, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Aspen grove containing colors from green through red and orange to yellow

I have been watching this location for many years, and even this season I had checked it out earlier in the week to see how the color was coming along. During that first check the color was just beginning, and most of the trees were still green, but when we returned just a matter of days later the scene had been transformed, and most of the trees were wildly colorful. The bits of remaining green seemed to be just enough to set off the brighter shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Photographing aspen color depends a lot on the nature of the light at the time of the photograph. Midday light can be harsh, and the subtle qualities of the coloration can be lost. In fact, if the light on the front of the aspen trees they lose virtually all of their color and they can look quite drab and boring. On the other hand, photographing aspens in shadows can let the colors glow, especially after a bit of adjustment to compensate for the blue quality of the shadow light. Additionally, the softer shadow light allows shaded portions of the scene to be more visible. On this morning we planned our time to make sure that we arrived at a series of locations just before the shadows were overwhelmed by the arrival of direct sun. In fact, as I photographed these shadowed trees, the line of sunlight streaming over a nearby peak was only feet behind my camera position.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: california

Autumn Snow, Last Light On Granite

Wildfire, Forest, Early Morning

Forest, Wildfire Smoke

Aspen Color

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.