Tag Archives: canyon

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

Tuolumne River, Forest, Evening

August 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light falls across forest and granite, Tuolumne River Canyon

On the first evening of my July trip to the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite, having set up my camp and taken care of other chores, I decided to go photograph something nearby. The Tuolumne River is about as nearby as one can find, so I decided to walk down a section where it descends through an area of granite slabs and begins to offer down-canyon views.

My first destination was a particular cascade from which a nearby peak is visible. But as I finished photographing that, a look downstream toward the next bend suggested that better light might be found that way. One thing usually leads to another, just as surely as one bend in the river provides a view of yet another, and eventually I wandered down to this spot, where the river tracked off into the trees and the last light of the day illuminate nearby trees and the ridges and forests further down the river canyon.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Rain

July 31, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Midday rain at alpine Sierra Nevada lakes, Kings Canyon National Park

Back in 2013 a small group of us escaped to a lake-filled basin high in the Kings Canyon National Park backcountry, in a location not that far from the crest. We set up camp at 11,000′ and spent most of a week exploring and photographing the surrounding region.

There are many differences between quickly photographing such a place as you pass by and lingering over it for a week. Most obviously, we had time to slowly meander across the landscape, looking for and finding things that would escape the notice of a more hurried visitor. In addition, conditions change over such a time period, especially this late in the summer. We had beautiful blue sky days and warmth, and we also had days with wind and clouds and rain. This was mixed day. When I headed out there was a combination of clouds and sun, but before long I could see rain working its way up the valley. Sure enough, it arrived as I photographed.

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, Granite Ridges

July 30, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light and thin forest along granite ridges, Yosemite National Park

This is to be a summer of travel, and a great deal of it will take me a long ways from my Sierra Nevada mountains — to other wonderful places, but not places that are wild and natural. (At least not until September, when my visits to the Sierra will recommence.) So I managed to get up into the Yosemite high country for four days in mid-July to do some photography… and breathing!

On the last morning, before returning to break camp, I headed out early to look for subjects in morning light. In fact, I had been watching this particular area and had in mind to photograph these trees, growing on an old glaciated granite ridge, against the background of more distant, haze-muted, ridges. Once I got there it was a bonus to notice the diagonal shadows of the distant trees.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Granite and Trees

July 29, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Afternoon light on a landscape of alpine trees and granite ridges

Four of us camped out in this back-country valley high near the Sierra crest in Kings Canyon National Park, all told spending more than a week in the area. We set up a base camp at the entrance to a beautiful lake-filled basin, and then we gradually pushed out the boundaries of our exploration. During our stay we probably photographed a dozen lakes, and we experienced almost the full range of late-summer Sierra conditions, ranging from beautiful sunny days to days of thunder and lightning and rain.

Late on this beautiful afternoon I headed out on a lazy meander up our valley and past a series of small lakes along a stream coming down from the higher benches and valley. I walked up the valley the last direct light before the sun dropped behind a tall ridge to our west, and near the upper end of the string of lakes I stopped to make a photograph of the banks of this small lake, the surrounding forest, and the granite terrain ascending towards alpine ridges far above.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: canyon

Tuolumne River, Forest, Evening

Alpine Rain

Forest, Granite Ridges

Alpine Granite and Trees

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