Tag Archives: cathedral

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

Seepage Stains

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Seepage Stains, Granite
Water seepage stains mark a wall of Cathedral Range granite, Yosemite Naitonal Park

Seepage Stains. Yosemite National Park, California. September 15, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water seepage stains mark a wall of Cathedral Range granite, Yosemite National Park

During a week-long stay at a backcountry Yosemite lake my partners and I had plenty of time to explore our surroundings. A day in such a place is a joy, but we had a string of such days, with conditions ranging from Sierra blue sky, through wildfire smoke, to an early seasons autumn storm that dropped rain on us for a couple of days.

Being in one location for so long provides the opportunity to really get to know the place. After a day or so getting to know the main, iconic features, continuing exploration beings to reveal things that we miss at first. Across the valley from our camp was a long and low rock wall, at the base of steeply sloping granite walls and holding somewhat level basin. Not surprisingly, the evidence of water flowing over this wall was obvious, from the lush plant life to the  beautiful water stain patterns.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Seepage Stains, Cathedral Range Granite

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Seepage Stains, Cathedral Range Granite
Water seepage stains the surface of a Cathedral Range granite face, Yosemite National Park

Seepage Stains, Cathedral Range Granite. Yosemite National Park, California. September 11, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water seepage stains the surface of a Cathedral Range granite face, Yosemite National Park

During our week camped at a Yosemite back-country lake in September we had plenty of time to become intimately aware of the surrounding landscape, to explore its features, and to return to some of them more than once. One photographer who wasn’t with us this time but who has been a fixture on these trips in the past (Hi, Mike!) and shared some general information about a particular feature that intrigued him — and as a result the rest of us also became intrigued by it. The description of the location was a bit vague, but not so vague that a person who knows the area well would be unable to find it. (Think of directions like, “Near some granite to the south of a lake and west of another lake.”) So, once on the scene, this area was one that caught our focus.

Up from where we were camped, through some trees, and near the base of an incline, there is an odd section of cliff. In the sort of spot where you might expect everything to have been ground away by ancient glaciers there is a section of cliff that is hundreds of feet long and perhaps no ore than thirty feet high. A basin lies above it, and it seems that water finds many places to seem over and through these rocks, staining them in all sorts of diverse and amazing ways. This photograph is one of several close up studies I did of small sections of this face, where solid, blocky granite is cut through by cracks and water stains are everywhere.

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

Autumn Ferns, Tree, and Gully

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Autumn Ferns, Tree, and Gully
Boulders, autumn ferns and a small tree line a Yosemite back country granite gully

Autumn Ferns, Tree, and Gully. Yosemite National Park, California. September 12, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders, autumn ferns and a small tree line a Yosemite back country granite gully

For me, intimate scenes like this one define the Sierra Nevada experience at least as much as do alpine ridges and grand scenery. While those subjects are highlights, the feeling of smooth granite, stepping across half-buried rocks and through grasses, finding my way up or down a gully are the core experiences of the place. I wonder if I’m the only person who, when he starts thinking about the sensor experience of the Sierra, mostly recalls these things, along with the sound of gravel beneath boots, echoing off of the rock walls, water flowing in creeks, wind in trees and always the light.

This little spot is probably not one that would get the attention of too many people, unless perhaps they spent a week camped a few minutes from such a gully, crossed it daily on travels around a lake, and often paused to look up and eventually decided to explore a bit. A first glance told me that there was a gully. Another look and I began to see the colors of the rocks and their curve. Returning a few more times I noticed the little spruce tree and the ferns growing among the rocks. And after a week this spot become one more piece of the Sierra as I know it.

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

Light on Rocks, Tuolumne River

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Light on Rocks, Tuolumne River
Early evening light shines on granite slabs along the Tuolumne River as afternoon clouds dissipate behind nearby peaks

Light on Rocks, Tuolumne River. Yosemite National Park, California. July 12, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening light shines on granite slabs along the Tuolumne River as afternoon clouds dissipate behind nearby peaks

As I post it in November, this photograph takes me back to a wonderful Sierra trip last summer. I spent a few days in July camped at Tuolumne Meadows, doing a bit of hiking and a lot of photography. Each morning and evening I was out with the camera, in the meadows or somewhere else along Tioga Road. Although it was the fourth summer of California drought in the Sierra — a drought that did serious damage to the Sierra environment — on these July days it was almost possible to not think about that. There had been rain and it was the green time of year in the high country.

One evening I went out, this time by vehicle, to look for subjects. I had only a vague idea of some general things to photograph back along Tioga Pass Road, so I was easily distracted by anything that happened to catch my attention. Before I even left the Meadows I caught sight of some trees that were lit in an interesting way, so I turned around, drove back, and pulled out along the road. There were other cars there already and I hoped my sudden arrival didn’t annoy anyone, but I quickly saw a pair of photography friends at one of the vehicles. After exchanging greetings we decided to hear across the meadow together. By the time we got to the other side yet another couple of photography friends showed up! Mind you, none of this was planned. We all teamed up and spent a beautiful evening among friends making photographs along the Tuolumne.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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