Tag Archives: cliff

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

Cliff, Snow and Ice

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Cliff, Snow and Ice
Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

Cliff, Snow and Ice. Yosemite Valley, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

I made this photograph within the first few minutes after dawn and as the first light came over the Sierra to the east to touch the rim of Yosemite Valley near Glacier Point. The rugged cliff face below the summit was still in shadow, and it would remain that way for a long time, especially on a winter day like this one when the sun never rises very high in the sky. As I looked up at this view I thought back to a few times in the past when I’ve skied out to Glacier Point and looked down at the spot where I was standing on this morning.

This is a very rugged fact, crisscrossed by fractures and ledges in many places. On this morning some recent snow was still plastered to the rocks, and where water flowed from melting snow and then froze there were large patches of ice. In a few places the rock is red, I presume possibly from either some sort of seepage or perhaps from lichen. The tone of the scene is quite blue since the only light is from that gigantic blue light panel we call the sky!

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

Trees, Snow-Covered Ledge

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Trees, Snow-Covered Ledge
A group of trees growing on a snowy ledge below Glacier Point

Trees, Snow-Covered Ledge. Yosemite Valley, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of trees growing on a snowy ledge below Glacier Point

Near the end of February I made a more-or-less annual winter visit to Yosemite Valley. (Not my only time to visit in winter, but I’m often there around the final weekend of this month, during the last few years to attend the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibit.) This gave me a few days to photograph in the Valley during winter, which may be my favorite season there — when clouds can ring the Valley and, if I’m lucky, I might catch some snow.

I made this photograph on a very cold morning, photographing from an open meadow location below the face of Glacier Point, where granite ascends abruptly from behind what I’ll always think of as Camp Curry. I went to the meadow before dawn, with a plan to photograph this wall in shadow and then as the first light began to slant across it from the east. This cliff is a cold place this time of year — most of the time in shadow, dusted with snow, and with frozen water everywhere. The blue-tinged shadow light only increases the effect in this scene of a small group of trees managing to eke out an existence on an angled rock ledge.

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

Dormant Trees, Granite

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Dormant Trees, Granite
A granite cliff towers above dormant trees along the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

Dormant Trees, Granite. Yosemite Valley, California. February 25, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A granite cliff towers above dormant trees along the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

Winter can produce a softer and subtler Yosemite Valley, one that can sometimes be just a bit tricky to photograph. Perhaps the most obvious subjects in the winter are found on days when there is snow, or when storm clouds and mists shroud the cliffs and ridges. As a matter of fact, those are the things I’m usually hoping to find when I visit the Valley at this time of year.

But the true nature of the Valley in winter includes some subtler subjects, sometimes nearly devoid of the greens of spring and summer or the colors of fall. Truth be told, the meadows are brown and trees lose their leaves, the clouds can block or filter the light, and many sections of the surrounding cliffs can be in shadow. This photograph is such a scene — winter dormant trees along the banks of the Merced River, brown meadows underneath and stretching beyond, and the steel-gray colors of shadowed granite above.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Winter Oak, Cliff

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Winter Oak, Cliff
A dormant winter oak in back-light, against the backdrop of granite Yosemite cliff

Winter Oak, Cliff. Yosemite Valley, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dormant winter oak in back-light, against the backdrop of granite Yosemite cliff

Near the end of February I spent a few days in and around Yosemite Valley. I scheduled my visit to coincide with the opening reception of the 2017 Yosemite Renaissance exhibit at the Yosemite Visitor Center Museum Gallery. The annual show features work by artists focusing on Yosemite and the Sierra, including almost every medium imaginable — and one of my photographs was in the show this year.

Almost any visit to Yosemite Valley calls for photography, so I arranged my schedule to be there for three days. While I hiked a lot on some days, on this day I hopped in my vehicle and headed down the Valley to visit various areas including El Capitan Meadow with its beautiful winter-bare trees and the backdrop of huge cliffs. The face of Sentinel Rocks, almost always in shade at this time of year, rises behind this single back-lit dormant oak tree.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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