Tag Archives: county

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

Autumn Snow, Parker Canyon

November 12, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An October storm brings snow to the Parker Canyon area of the eastern Sierra Nevada

This is yet another photograph from our early October “aspen chasing” trip to photograph fall color in the eastern Sierra. We were on the “east side” for five days, in conditions that began with a full day of snow, then turned mostly sunny for a few more days, and returned to more winter-like weather on our final day. On that last day of the visit we tracked far to the east of the Sierra, out into high desert ranges where we saw many interesting things including a number of stands of aspens in surprising and less-visited places.

We looped back from the east and passed by the south shore of Mono Lake, and coming over the rise between there and highway 395 we were not surprised to see a substantial chunk of the Sierra crest laid out before us… but we were a bit surprised to see that it appeared to still be snowing along the crest. We had awakened to light snow in Mammoth Lakes that morning, but assumed that it was just a passing squall. This seemed to be the case, as we did not see much more in the way of precipitation as we headed east. But these were apparently the sort of conditions in which storm clouds form right over the crest, and the result was this very dramatic scene. Low in the frame, the foreground hills pick up a bit of sunlight, and as they ascend toward higher peaks, aspen trees in full autumn color are visible. A forest filled valley, lined by an old lateral glacial moraine, ascends across the frame from right to left, leading to the entrance to steep Parker Canyon. High above, light snow falls and the peaks around Parker Pass slip in and out of the clouds.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Paoha Island, Mono Lake, Evening

September 22, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Pastel colors in evening clouds above Paoha Island reflect on the surface of Mono Lake

On this evening I ended up at Mono Lake on more or less a hunch about the clouds – thunder clouds had built to the east out over the basin and range country and even a bit over the Sierra, and I had heard a report of thunder and lightning a bit north of here, so I decided to chance an evening visit to the south shore of the lake. Mono Lake evening light can be very special, but it can also be a bit tricky. Because the tall peaks of the Sierra Nevada crest lie directly to the west, the light leaves the lake itself well before actual sunset, so you often might end up relying on the clouds themselves to provide most of the interest. Smoke from a wildfire to the south near Mammoth Lakes had also been affecting the atmosphere, creating a lot of haze and some unusual colors.

In any case, I drove out to a point along the south shore of the lake – not the well-known South Tufa site, though visible from there – and watched the mostly uninspiring light of this very hazy evening. But there I was, and there wasn’t time before the end of the light to get from Mono Lake to other places that might be interesting, so I stayed and photographed and thought about how I might be able to work with the light and conditions that were available to me. There were beautifully shaped clouds, and they rose high enough above the lower atmosphere to gain some clarity. The haze muted the shapes and colors of the far hills and the darker shape of the island. So I composed the scene to just barely hold the island and a bit of the lake at the bottom, and used that to anchor a scene that was mostly sky.

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Creek

September 19, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Redwood creek flows though lush forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California

This was more or less the first photograph I made on this August early morning visit to Muir Woods National Monument, and its main redwood groves. I had arrived very early – well before the park opened and other visitors arrived – and I was almost all alone as the first morning light begin to filter down through trees into this valley.

The photograph was made at a rather prosaic location, the first footbridge on the main “nature trail” though the popular monument. However, being here so early, I had the rare opportunity to set my tripod up on the bridge without having to worry about inconveniencing other visitors (there weren’t any!) or waiting for the bridge to stop vibrating as hordes of people walked across. And, yes, that is an issue here, since when I shoot at low ISOs and small apertures I often end up with exposure times measured in seconds when shooting in the deep shade of the redwood forest. One of the most challenging things when shooting in this lush environment, at least for me, is to try to tease a coherence composition out of scenes that often include a ton of detail. This is certainly one of those scenes, but I think that the curving trees, the downward arc of branches on the left, the foreground stream, and perhaps a sense of depth creating by further trees in brighter light might make this work.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Tomales Bay Hills, Morning

September 18, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Early morning light on clearing fog and mist in the hills above Tomales Bay, California

I had headed up towards Point Reyes National Seashore, which is not at all far from Inverness, very early on the cold February morning. I allowed myself to be distracted by other sights on the drive up, and so I did not make my planned arrival on Drakes Bay for sunrise. The sun came up as I drove along the shores of quiet Tomales Bay. Since that’s where I was and the light was interesting, I gave up my early morning plans for shooting along the beach inside the park and instead stopped here to photograph instead. When I got out of my car, I was surprised by how cold it was. It isn’t unusual to have sub-freezing morning temperatures in parts of the Bay Area this time of year, but it is unusual when that happens right along the ocean shoreline.

This photograph might serve as proof of my eligibility for membership in the “Shooting Straight Into the Light” school of photography. (No one who has seen a few of my photographs will be surprised by that, I expect! I’m a big fan of back light and bright light shining through things.) From my shooting position along the shore of the bay I had quite a range of different sorts of light. Looking to my left (north) toward the mouth of the bay, shoreline buildings, piers, and moored boats were well-lit by morning light coming from my right. But looking back up the bay the sun was rising above the Marin hills right in front of me as bits of fog floated in a few valleys and on the tidelands of the bay. It was very, very bright and this light almost completely washed out all of the colors that were so visible when looking in other directions.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: county

Autumn Snow, Parker Canyon

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Paoha Island, Mono Lake, Evening

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Redwood Creek

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Tomales Bay Hills, Morning

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

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