Tag Archives: canyon

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning, Merced Canyon and Bridalveil Fall

July 17, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of morning light on the Merced River canyon leading into Yosemite Valley with Bridalveil Fall in the distance.

If you enter the park via state route 120 and head toward Yosemite Valley, after passing the exit to Foresta you cross a ridge and begin the descend toward the Valley. I almost always stop at this location right after the longer of the three tunnels on this section of roadway and enjoy the view straight up the Merced Canyon toward Bridalveil Fall and a point where the Valley bends to the right.

The more I see this photo, the more I like it. Yosemite is, obviously, a place with quite a few famous and iconic photographic subjects, but I don’t think this view – at least not in these conditions – is one of them. But it is a view that many of us know well, as it is along the main northerly entrance to the Valley and is one of the first open views down into the Merced River canyon and the Valley itself, albeit the lower section.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Two White Globe Lily Flowers

June 11, 2008 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Two white globe lily flowers growing in a narrow canyon at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. I make a point of hiking through this canyon with my camera equipment every April, when many wildflowers are in bloom.

A couple notes on this photo and some other wildflower photos that will soon follow… I know the location of these flowers very well – they grow along a trail through a canyon at a nearby park where I hike many times each year. I shot these photographs without a tripod. In fact, I travelled very light when I did much of this flower photography this season – on this day I was carrying only my Canon 5D and a 24-105mm zoom. The lens choice might catch the attention of some readers, since this is not your typical macro lens – but I’ve found that it works quite well for this type of shooting, and that it is possible to get a pleasing background blur in many cases if I use a large aperture and pay attention to what is in the background.

keywords: chinese lantern, flower, wild, wildflower, spring, canyon, blossom, plant, leaf, nature, almaden, quicksilver, santa clara county, park, san jose, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Titus Canyon

May 11, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park.

This was, to say the least, a difficult shot. Besides driving nearly 30 miles on dirt roads, there were photographic challenges, not the least of which is the extreme dynamic contrast between the very bright sky and the dark canyon walls. Needless to say, this photograph is the result of some significant post-processing work – but do click the image to view it larger.

The road through Titus Canyon is one of the most amazing features of any Western US National Park. (Shhh….) It begins on a rather typical high desert dirt road through sagebrush country but then ascends into the Amargosa range. Before long this narrow one-way track twists and turns up and down steep ridges past amazing rocky ridges and along the top of tremendous canyons – while not a true four-wheel drive road, it is not for the faint hearted. It then descends into Titus Canyon itself, and near the bottom it passes through an unbelievable slot canyon – in places barely wider than your car the canyon walls rise vertically for hundreds of feet above. (If you visit Titus Canyon, check with the park service first since road conditions are very rough and can change.)

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

People, Evening, Glacier Point

June 15, 2006 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small group gathers at Glacier Point to watch the sunset over Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon, Yosemite National park.

A small group of people gather along the edge of the cliff at Glacier Point to watch the sunset. This had been a much less wet winter than the current (2011) winter, and little snow is visible at the higher elevations even though it is early June.

Any visitor to the Valley should make a point of watching the sunset from this vantage point. Park visitors have been doing it for decades, and with good reason. From here the view includes the depths of Yosemite Valley, including some of the waterfalls and famous granite faces, Half Dome, the gorge of Tenaya Canyon, Mount Hoffman and the domes around North Dome, and out of the frame to the right the crest of the Sierra.

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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM at 17mm (at B&H)
ISO 100, f/18, 1/60 second

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