Tag Archives: clouds

Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

September 5, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening along the tree-lined shore of Moraine Lake in Sequoia National Park, California.

Moraine Lake is located on the Chagoopa Plateau in the Sierra Nevada backcountry of Sequoia National Park, between Big Arroyo and the deep trench of Kern Canyon. Aside from being a bit windy when I’ve been there, it is a very peaceful spot – and a good warm place (relatively speaking) to swim. No surprise given its name, the opposite shore is formed by a lateral moraine that must have come from a glacier traveling down Big Arroyo, and there are lots of rocks everywhere. In fact, along the near shoreline they form a couple of little peninsulas that enclose shallows cut off from the main lake and which support a few trees like those in this photograph.

Most recently I was here in in early August of 2008, when I and a group of friends camped for a night on our trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal via the High Sierra Trail. Technically (OK, literally), Moraine Lake is not “on” the High Sierra Trail, being instead on a lateral loop that leaves the HS Trail on the Chagoopa Plateau to drop down to the lake, and which then continues to the loop to rejoin a few miles later. Oddly, it seems to me that most people who hike through here probably do take the alternative route past Moraine, with the exception of some hard-core hikers who walk far enough in a day to not need to camp on the Plateau.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap

August 21, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Color photograph of Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap as evening sun strikes peaks around the upper basin – Sequoia National Park, California.

Upper Hamilton Lake is located on the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National Park, and is the traditional camping spot before climbing over Kaweah Gap on the ridge in this photograph. I arrived there on August 6, 2008 on the second day of nine-day trans-Sierra backpacking trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney portal, and we left the next morning to climb the Gap and head to points east.

This photograph was made in the evening as the sun set, sending its light through the narrow opening of the canyon to the west toward the wall at the upper end of the lake – while the high ridge is still in sunlight the lake and surrounding slopes are already in shadow. The photograph was made from a position not more than ten or twelve feet from my campsite.

keywords: landscape, upper, hamilton, lake, kaweah, gap, great western, divide, ridge, mountain, pass, basin, cirque, water, reflection, evening, sunset, golden hour, blue, sky, clouds, forest, tree, brush, rock, talus, peak, alpine, sequoia, national park, california, usa, stock, backpack, hike, camp

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

El Capitan, Clouds Rest, and Half Dome – Morning Light

June 20, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Hardly need to identify the subject of this photograph! It was taken from that place – the Wawona Tunnel View. Although it is nearly impossible to create a new view of this scene, I’ll mention a few things that are different from the usual “line up with other photographers and photograph the sunset” shots. This was done with a rather long lens – shot with the 100-400mm, it is morning, the actual light was quite hazy and filtered.

As to why anyone would shoot this spot… well, there is a reason that everyone stops and gawks from this spot… ;-) Sometimes I stop there as I pass by and don’t bother to even get the camera out.

California, National Park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, valley, wawona, tunnel, view, el capitan, clouds rest, half dome, morning, light, cliff, mountain, forest, clouds, haze, scenic, landscape, travel, stock, usa

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point

June 17, 2008 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Evening photograph of Yosemite Valley from Old Inspiration Point. Inspiration Point was the equivalent to the Wawona Tunnel View before the tunnel was constructed, back at a time when an older route provided a road into the Valley. On this late April evening I decided to forego the usual crowd of photographers at the more accessible overlook and climb the steep 1.3 mile trail up to this beautiful spot – where I enjoyed a sunset view of the Valley alone (except for a couple of neighborhood deer) and in complete silence.

keywords: sunset, golden hour, yosemite valley, national park, inspiration, point, bridalveil, fall, el capitan, forest, trees, silhouette, sentinel, half, dome, clouds rest, blue, sky, clouds, three brothers, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa, stock, sierra, nevada, mountains

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: clouds

Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap

El Capitan, Clouds Rest, and Half Dome – Morning Light

Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point

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