Tag Archives: creek

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Trees and Boulders, Bishop Creek

October 6, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

A row of aspens in full orange autumn color stands in front of a boulder field on a rainy evening, Bishop Creek, California.

I have visited this bunch of colorful trees before, but in the past have arrived just past the end of the prime color – but this time I think I hit the upper reaches of Bishop Canyon below South Lake at almost exactly the right time. Not only was the color at its peak, but the overcast, late day illumination, and light rain served to increase the intensity of the colors. I also feel that the background of large gray slabs and boulders provides a nice contrast to the very light tones of the aspen trunks and the gaudy colors of the leaves.

When it comes to fall color, each year seems to have its own personality. Some years feature brighter colors and others seem to be less striking; some seem to start early and others linger. Some years fall seems more like summer; but in others the weather seems to move quickly to winter. It is perhaps too soon to say for sure, but I have a feeling that this fall – at least the early weeks in the eastern Sierra – may go down as one of the most colorful and spectacular in a number of years.

I’ll mention a technical point about this photograph as well. For this image I used one of my favorite landscape lens, especially when I’m shooting more intimate details of the landscape, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 zoom. You’ll often hear people say that the best lens for landscape work is a wide angle lens. While the wides have their place, I think it is far too much of a generalization to say that any particular focal length is necessarily the most appropriate for landscape. Basically, any focal length that works with your subject and your concept of the subject is the right lens.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, Bishop Canyon

October 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 7 Comments

Twisted and leaning aspen trunks in a large grove in the Bishop Creek drainage, Sierra Nevada, California.

These trees are in a grove where I have stopped quite a few times with the intent of making photographs, but never quite seeing what I wanted. I’ve been there on sunny days, and early in the morning before the direct sunlight strikes these trees. This was the first time that I’ve photographed these trees and felt that it was a success – and I think that the different light conditions are the reason. As I made the photograph it was overcast and raining lightly. From moment to moment the amount of light would subtly vary, but it remained soft and diffused due to the clouds and rain.

I also took a lot of time just wandering around in this grove and looking – in fact it would probably be accurate to say that I did more looking than photographing! I actually walked out of the grove a few times, thinking I was done, only to see another potential angle and wander back in again.

The fall color season in the eastern Sierra has become more and more popular with photographers over the past few years, due perhaps to the adoption of DSLR cameras and to publicity about the subject on the web. However, while some places are extremely crowded, others are can still be fairly quiet and uncrowded. And, fortunately, while the crowds seek out the familiar shots it is possible to find less crowded places… even as scores of photographers drive past them on their way to the iconic sites where they will line up side by side to make the same photographs.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Cascade, Tyndall Creek

August 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

High in the Upper Kern River drainage, water dashes over the rocks of Tyndall Creek.

Tyndall Creek is in one of my most favorite areas of the Sierra Nevada. It runs between Shepherd Pass (located on the Sierra Crest a bit north of Mount Whitney) and the upper reaches of the Kern River in Sequoia National Park. It begins, more or less, in a small, barren lake right on the crest at the verge of the drop-off into Shepherd Pass, flows gently westward through alpine rock gardens as it descends towards timberline, and then drops more quickly to join the Kern a few miles later. It crosses the John Muir Trail where one encounters almost the first trees after descending from 13,200′ Forrester Pass to the north. Quite a few JMT travelers camp at this spot – partly because of the shelter of the trees and partly because of the terraced rocks over which the creek passes here.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Southern California

Afternoon, Upper Bubbs Creek

August 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late afternoon light on the forest and distant peaks on Upper Bubbs Creek, Kings Canyon National Park.

Since this photograph comes from an entirely different adventure, a bit of background information is probably in order. Among my summer pack trips, each year I join my friends from the talusdancers, a loosely connected group of folks who like to backpack, for at least one “big trip” in the Sierra. I’ve been doing this for nearly 15 years now. This year’s trip revisited some familiar spots (Tyndall Creek in the upper Kern), some that I had not visited for quite a few years (Forrester Pass), and one area that I have never before visited despite thinking about it for over 30 years (Milestone Basin and the Lake South America area). Near the end of July we headed out of Onion Valley to cross Kearsarge Pass, turned south to enter the Upper Kern River drainage via Forrester Pass, explored there for a few day, and then exited by way of brutal Shepherd Pass.

Forrester Pass is the second-highest point on the John Muir Trail (or “the JMT,” as most refer to it) at 13,200′, and we planned to cross it from north to south on the third day of our trip. At the end of day two we dropped down to Vidette Meadow and then headed up canyon to upper Bubbs Creek where the old Center Basin trail splits off from the main JMT where we made camp. This photograph was made in the late afternoon as we lazed about, doing a bit of laundry and thinking about the big climb ahead of us the next day. The view beyond the foreground and the closer trees is back down the canyon of Bubbs Creek, with the lowering sun lighting the canyon walls.

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.

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