Tag Archives: country

Commentary, Equipment, Technique

Updated for 2010 – My Backpacking Photography Gear

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At about this time every year interest increases in the question of what equipment can work well for back-country photography. Over the years I’ve working out an approach that seems effective for my photography. A few years back I wrote an article here describing this, and I just made a few minor updates to it this morning. If you are interested, take a look at this description of my “Backpacking Photography Equipment.”

Keep in mind that my goals include making photography a primary focus of many of my back-country trips – so I’m perhaps will to endure a bigger load of gear than some might be willing to carry. Also keep in mind that I’m working to create photographs that can be turned into rather large and high quality prints – if your goals are more modest (and for most people, they should be!) you probably want to consider a somewhat different setup. Differences in your subject preferences – wildlife? macro? – might also suggest a different setup than I use.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Subalpine Meadow, Evening – Evelyn Lake

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Subalpine Meadow, Evening - Evelyn Lake

Subalpine Meadow, Evening – Evelyn Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late summer evening light in a subalpine meadow near Evelyn Lake in the Yosemite National Park back-country.

I’m pretty certain that my favorite time of year in the Sierra starts right about when this photograph was made – early September right after the Labor Day Holiday. I’m also certain that my favorite terrain – I call in “my Sierra” – is this sort of open timberline country with a mixture of subalpine meadow, stunted forest, and open views of surrounding higher terrain.

On this day I had come up to Evelyn Lake – located very near the Vogelsang High Sierra camp – from Lyell Canyon. After a late arrival at my Lyell Canyon camp the night before and the rather stiff morning climb up the Ireland Lake trail, I arrived here feeling pretty tired. I pretty much set up my bivy sack camp and took a big nap! Later in the day as evening approached I came back to life and decided to make a few photographs. This photograph of the meadow and a bit of a meandering stream in the meadow was made within a few yards of my campsite on the shoreline of the lake.

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

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Snow and Morning Light on Wheeler Ridge

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Autumn Snow and Morning Light on Wheeler Ridge

Autumn Snow and Morning Light on Wheeler Ridge. Sierra Nevada near Bishop, California. October 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light on the Buttermilks and the face of the eastern Sierra’s Wheeler Ridge as an early autumn storm brings snow flurries.

On both mornings during my early October trip to the Bishop Creek area to photograph aspens, I instead ended up spending at least some time shooting the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada in the area of the “Buttermilks,” an area of very interesting rock formations (and lots of rock climbers!) off of highway 168 above Bishop. On the first morning I drove a good distance up into the region and spent an hour or more shooting a particular scene. On the second morning, when this photograph was made, I only stopped briefly on my up to higher elevation areas, aspen groves, and snow flurries.

An early season storm was coming in – it had been tremendously windy the night before and I’d picked up a dusting of snow at my campsite the night before. While the sun streamed over the White Mountains to the east and managed to light up the high desert hills in this area it was snowing lightly but steadily up in the mountains. Here the light is sweeping across the low, rocky hills in the foreground and hitting the steep lower slopes of Wheeler ridge, while above the peaks are shrouded in mist and clouds and receiving a light but steady snow fall.

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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keywords: wheeler, ridge, buttermilk, country, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, morning, dawn, rock, boulder, hill, shadow, sage, high, desert, cloud, snow, flurry, sky, blue, road, landscape, nature, owens, valley, bishop, highway, 168, brown, california, usa, travel, scenic, tree, pole, storm, fall, autumn, season, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Basin Mountain, Morning Light

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Basin Mountain, Morning Light

Basin Mountain, Morning Light. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light with clearing clouds above Basin Mountain and the Sierra Crest near the high desert of the Buttermilks, Sierra Nevada, California.

I awoke well before dawn in Bishop on this early October morning with intentions of being at a location such as North Lake for dawn, but as I ascended the road into the Sierra from Bishop I was distracted by impressive cloud formations over the Sierra crest around Basin Mountain and the peaks of the crest. I spontaneously made a change in plans and turned off the main road towards the Buttermilks to see if I could find a place to photograph this scene before it all ended.

There is a small “village” up Starlite Road from 168, and a gravel road continues beyond it. This road soon took me to the top of a small hill before a big drop-off and once I spotted the way the peaks lined up and the location of the trees I decided to stop here, set up, and be ready to shoot dawn light.

While the light itself seems quite interesting, one of the most unusual features is seen in the shape of the clouds above the crest – they almost trace the rough outline of the high peaks.

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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