Tag Archives: Cloud

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

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

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Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Meadows and rocks along the shoreline of upper Young Lake with Sierra Crest peaks reflected the distance, Yosemite National Park.

During the last week of July I backpacked to the Young Lakes area of the Yosemite High Sierra near Tuolumne Meadows to spend the better part of four days visiting and photographing the lakes and other features of this area. I’ve been here many times, but this is the first time that I simply stayed put for several days and visited all three Young Lakes and Roosevelt Lake.

The three Young Lakes are all within about a mile of one another, strung along a creek below the ridge running out the Ragged Peak. Each has a distinct personality, and it isn’t surprising that the upper lake is the most alpine of the three, mostly surrounded by open sub-alpine meadows, a sparse forest of small trees, and open views of the surrounding peaks at or near the crest of the Sierra Nevada range.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

South Tufa, Morning

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South Tufa, Morning

South Tufa, Morning. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of early morning at South Tufa, Mono Lake, California.

This black and white panorama was photographed on my early June, 2009 visit to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake. Earlier that morning I had photographed the more typical early morning golden light of dawn on the tufa towers from a closer position. This photograph was more or less a last-minute afterthought, as I had completed the photography I had in mind on this morning and had pack up. I was actually leaving the shoreline when I happened to look back at this view that includes many tufa towers and I noticed the two small clouds (remnants of more extensive dawn clouds) centered over the towers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

keywords: south, tufa, towers, mono, lake, water, reflection, black and white, beach, rock, geology, formation, ripple, dawn, day, break, morning, light, cloud, mountains, distant, atmosphere, silhouette, shore, waterline, foam, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, sand, stark, panorama, pano

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

First Light, South Tufa

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First Light, South Tufa

First Light, South Tufa. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light of dawn illuminates tufa towers and distant mountain at Mono Lake, California.

This photograph was made at the usual spot – anyone who has photographed at Mono (and who hasn’t!? :-) knows that the most consistent spot to shoot sunrise light is at the South Tufa area, down the road from highway 395 a bit south of Lee Vining. On a good morning you’ll have at least some clouds, and the location of those clouds may dictate what your foreground subject is; do you want to shoot to the north and the low hills, to the east and towards the sunrise, or toward the Sierra Nevada crest? You arrive very early, usually well before dawn, and walk out to the edge of the water where the towers are. You find a composition and wait, with the only sounds the cries of seagulls (a sound I immediately associate with Mono) and possibly the voices of other photographers. The sky begins to lighten and then, almost before you know it, the warm glow of the first dawn light begins to light up the towers. (Am I the only one who marvels that this happens in almost complete silence?)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: first, light, dawn, sun, rise, morning, illuminate, tufa, tower, south, mono, lake, water, reflection, cloud, sky, red, pink, rock, ripple, pattern, gull, bird, distant, california, usa, eastern, sierra, nevada, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock, bird, shore

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

New Spring Growth, Dana Fork, Tuolumne River

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New Spring Growth, Dana Fork, Tuolumne River

New Spring Growth, Dana Fork, Tuolumne River. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New spring growth comes to life in a waterlogged meadow along the Dana fork of the Tuolumne River beneath snow-dusted summits of Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Yosemite National Park, California.

I think I shot this scene as much for reasons of recording nature as for any aesthetic reasons. It is a bit unusual for me to get to Tuolumne so early in the season – though it isn’t the first time, and I’ve even been there when snow was still on the ground – so I thought it was interesting to catch this meadow while it was still completely waterlogged from spring runoff and before the more familiar lush green growth of the high season had appeared.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: new, spring, growth, dana, fork, tuolumne, river, water, waterlogged, meadow, mount, dana, gibbs, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, plant, grass, twig, reflection, forest, tree, mountain, crest, summit, sierra, nevada, range, cloud, light, snow, dusted, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock, brown, summer, tioga, pass, road