Tag Archives: clouds

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

Meadow and Mountains

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Meadow and Mountains
“Meadow and Mountains” — Morning haze and wildfire smoke on Mounts Dana and Gibbs above a late-summer Yosemite high country meadow.

In some places the Sierra Nevada crest can present the classic, rugged alpine scene — high, rocky peaks and ridges that almost appear to be inaccessible. But in other places the land rises a bit more gently, and you can look across open meadows and forests towards peaks that look as if you could just walk to their summits. (In fact, you could walk to the summits in this photograph, but you’d be exhausted, as the highest is over 13,000′ tall.

The water in the foreground belongs to the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River. Early in the season the meadow here can be lushly green — and quite wet — but by the end of summer, like almost all Sierra meadows, it turns golden. On this day the atmosphere was complex — high clouds would lead to thunderstorms later on, and drifting wildfire smoke obscured distant subjects.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tioga Crest, Evening

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Tioga Crest, Evening
“Tioga Crest, Evening” — Tioga Crest in sunset light, reflected in a small pond.

This ridge lies a bit east of the actual Sierra Nevada Crest, just outside of Yosemite National Park’s eastern boundary. The peaks along the park boundary are magnificent examples of the rugged, rocky landscape that characterizes the highest parts of the range. But the ridge in this photograph is different. Despite being over 11,000′ high, on its western side it looks like… a really big hill, with little of the rocky, rugged alpine quality that we expect from these high mountains.

After my early backcountry dinner (as usual, eaten from the bag into which I had poured the cup of boiling water), I headed out for my evening photography. As the last sunlight left the lake where we camped I looked to distant high points where that warm light still shone. Here I lined up the peak with its reflection in a small pond only steps from my campsite.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains

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First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains
“First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains” — The first dawn light on Mono Lake tufa towers, with desert mountains and morning ing clouds in the distance.

The landscape of Mono Lake and Mono Basin seems reduced to essentials: rocks, mountains, water, sky, light. And all of this is in a place of uncommon quiet and immense space — it is difficult to truly comprehend the scale of the basin. These qualities seem especially strong if you come down from the peaks and intimate landscapes of the nearby Sierra Nevada.

I was out there early on this July morning — having literally “come down” from those peaks near the Sierra crest in predawn darkness. Rather than getting close to the famous tufa formations, my goal was to photograph the lake and its surroundings from a distance, using long lenses to bring together some of the close features and distant elements of the landscape.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto

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La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto
“La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto” — The Douro River winds past the La Ribeira district of Porto at dusk, Portugal.

On this evening we had crossed the Douro River via the famous Dom Luis I bridge to join the throngs watching the sunset from its south side. People staked out viewing locations almost everywhere, though the Garden of the Moors area seemed to be the most popular — with musicians and food carts ad more. We took a different approach and climbed up to the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar.

After sunset we started our walk back to the north side of the bridge and our lodgings along the edge of the Ribeira district. Dusk was arriving as we re-crossed the bridge, so I paused to photograph the scene — the lively waterfront area, the buildings rising up from the river, the water’s winding path toward the sea, and some evening clouds overhead.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.