Tag Archives: cliff

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fractured Granite

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Fractured Granite
A fractured granite cliff in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Fractured Granite. Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fractured granite cliff in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

I made this photograph on a morning when I was in the eastern Sierra to photograph autumn subject, particularly the annual color change of the aspen trees. Being in a place where I have photographed many times, I quickly dispensed with the familiar (and even iconic) subjects in the area and then, as I like to do, simply wandered slowly with my eyes open, looking for little elements of the larger landscape that caught my eye. Although I have walked past this granite quite a few times, it may be the first time I have photographed it.

Granite (along with, as geologist friends might remind me, rocks informally referred to as granite) is ubiquitous in the Sierra, and is one of the most characteristic features of the Sierra Nevada experience. Not only is there a lot of it, but it has been laid bare by (mostly) glacial action, and it appears in its original locations and in places where the rocks have been moved by water and ice. As a person who has hiked here for decades and who spent a few years as a rock climber, I developed an intimate familiarity with this rock. It can be smooth or rough, uniform in color and texture or interspersed with veins and crystals. It can be freezing cold in winter or benignly warm on a summer day. It may be nearly white, gray, or incorporate a host of color variations. It seems to be solid and unchanging, but there is evidence everywhere that it has been moved and broken and shaped.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees

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Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees
Bare aspen tree trunks and branches against a backdrop of a Sierra Nevada rock face

Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare aspen tree trunks and branches against a backdrop of a Sierra Nevada rock face

There are all kinds of ways to photograph aspens, and they can be photographed during virtually any season: winter trees with snow, spring trees with new leaves, summer trees surrounded by wildflowers and grasses, autumn colors, and this wonderful time when the bare trees stand out against the rest of the surrounding terrain. At this latter stage they can be photogenic on their own or they can be set off against backdrops of other trees, rocks, or the fallen leaves littering the ground.

These specific trees have gotten my attention in the past. They grow against a fractured granite backdrop, and they are in a location where I might go to photograph other fall subjects. So when I go to photograph those subjects, I often end up walking past this spot and pausing. While nearby trees still had a lot of colorful leaves, these smaller trees had already dropped almost all of theirs.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Light, Trees and Meadow

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Autumn Light, Trees and Meadow
Autumn afternoon light falls on meadow and trees in Yosemite Valley

Autumn Light, Trees and Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. October 21, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn afternoon light falls on meadow and trees in Yosemite Valley

These trees and I have become old friends. I have photographed the trees and the meadow in which they are located many times over the years. (I don’t generally name places, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of fellow Yosemite visitors recognize them.) I’ve been there in every season — summer (fighting crowds!), fall (with oaks turning golden brown), spring (with green meadows and new leaves the trees), and winter (when I hiked across closed roads to get here, and had the meadow to myself).

When photographing in Yosemite Valley I almost always pay close attention not only to my immediate subjects but also to the atmospheric conditions and the light. On this day smoke from wildfires filled the valley. At first that might seem rather unpleasant — and it certainly is not good for eyes or lungs! — but it also can create some beautiful atmospheric effects, from muting colors to glowing in the light. At this time of year the sun passes lower in the sky and the edges of shadows move across the Valley floor and create changing and beautiful conditions. At this location the first light arrives late and leaves early since there are very tall granite faces nearby that block the sun. I arrived here just at the moment before the shadow moved over these trees, but while a shaft of light came through a cleft in the upper cliff walls and fell on the trees.

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: Nevada

Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall

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Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall
Wheeler glacier and the cirque headwall below Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall. Great Basin National Park, Nevada. September 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wheeler Glacier and the cirque headwall below Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

On my recent first-time visit to Nevada’s Great Basin National Park I experienced the challenges and rewards of photographing a brand new (to me!) location. As I have previously noted, I usually avoid doing too much research about a new destination ahead of time, at least beyond what is necessary to successfully get there and back and locate places to stay and eat, along with the most basic known features of the place. (For anyone who hasn’t heard the message already, I’m trying to retain the potential for discovery in new places and to make it more likely that I will form my own orientation to them.) So, what I actually knew about this park in advance of my visit was somewhat limited: it is formed around the Snake Mountains, it is famous for its caves, Wheeler Peak is the second highest point in Nevada, there might be fall color at this time of year, that much of the park is not easily accessible… and there is a glacier!

From this and a few of my other photographs of the high areas of the park you might get the impression that it is largely and alpine place. It isn’t. In fact, the spots that do have that feeling are a small portion of the park and at least partially notable for being exceptions. Yet, once you arrive at such places they become your entire world. (Well, almost your entire world, since views of the surrounding “basin” terrain are rarely far away.) This glacial cirque cuts into the highest ridge, separating the two tallest summits in the park. The view straight into this glacial valley is, indeed, impressively alpine. (As I write this I have a photograph of a Pacific Northwest glacier scene from Mount Shuksan open on my computer, and it shares remarkable parallels with this photograph.) On this visit the effect was enhances by a recent dusting of early autumn snowfall that coats the mountains and the top of the huge rock glacier at the lower edge of the much smaller ice glacier.

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.