Tag Archives: dome

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

Lake, Ridges, Evening Light

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Lake, Ridges, Evening Light
Mountaintop trees stand above a sub-alpine lake, dome, and ridge in evening light, Yosemite National Park

Lake, Ridges, Evening Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mountaintop trees stand above a sub-alpine lake, dome, and ridge in evening light, Yosemite National Park.

This photograph (and its appearance here) is a bit unusual for me, though not entirely unprecedented. It is a photograph that I have shared previously, back when I originally made it some years ago. During the last year and a half I have had plenty of opportunities to revisit older work. Mostly this has meant exploring raw file archives to locate work that was “left behind,” but which turned out to be interesting and valuable in retrospect — photographs that I felt deserved a first showing. But this case represents something different — the rethinking of a photograph that I thought I had finished.

Revisiting and revising one of my previously-shared photographs usually leads to some relatively obvious changes. But in this case I think that changes may be subtle. Theres a small change in how it is cropped, some new ideas about how to handle the foreground light, some important but small changes to the middle forest and peak just beyond the lake, and some new adjustments to the sky. In my view, it is perfectly natural and good to revisit the original interpretation of a photograph over time, a process that was perhaps more common in the film era.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Summit Boulders and Tree, Sunset

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Summit Boulders and Tree, Sunset
Sunset light on the summit of a Yosemite granite dome on a hazy late-summer evening.

Summit Boulders and Tree, Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on the summit of a Yosemite granite dome on a hazy late-summer evening.

Even back before the recent increase in California wildfires, smoke haze was common during the later summer and early autumn months in the Sierra Nevada and, for that matter, over much of the state. For years I noticed that something was different about the atmosphere in September, and it wasn’t until relatively recently that I realized that the hazy softness in the September sky is, at least in part, due to widespread smoke. To be sure, most of the time it this haze is subtle. And, it can also be beautiful in the right situation. On this evening, it softened and warmed the light just before sunset.

We had been camped in this area for several days, and on this evening I took a long and slow walk with my camera. I headed around the far side of the lake that was next to our camp, gradually working my way toward a high point beyond that overlooks one of the great canyons of the Yosemite backcountry. On this summit I found a few glacial erratics and one small tree hiding in their shadow. I paused to make this photograph, then continued on along the spine of the low peak to descend back towards camp on the other side.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Dome, Last Light

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Dome, Last Light
The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

Dome, Last Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

If your experience with the natural world comes largely from watching media about the experiences of those who travel there… it is possible that your perception is skewed in ways that do not quite correspond to reality. Based on what you’ll sometimes see, you could end up thinking that the wilderness is a wild, thrill-a-minute place full of dangerous animals, daring hikes along edges of cliffs and more — all with exciting, bigger-than-life narration and dramatic musical accompaniment. I admit to occasionally falling (happily) for such illusions, but the reality is a lot different. Most of the time little happens. It is quiet. You are alone with your thoughts. There is time and space to just ponder.

The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — as this scene does — from the end of a backcountry season, it can be even quieter and meditative. As a photographer, the last few hours of the day are often busy times as we “work the light” before it is gone. But inevitably, the light eventually fades, and I’m often left standing quietly and just… looking.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Tuolumne Canyon, September

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Tuolumne Canyon, September
“Tuolumne Canyon, September” — Wildfire smoke colors morning light on domes above the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

Back in 2014 a group of us spent a week photographing in the Yosemite backcountry. We packed in to our first locations, spent a few days there, then moved along and ended up near the location of this photograph in the canyon of the Tuolumne River. While many have an impression of the Tuolumne formed by its leisurely passage through the Tuolumne Meadows area, other sections present a very different view.

Our stop here coincided with a very destructive wildfire in Little Yosemite Valley, and on the afternoon of our arrival the smoke had block the sun as ash floated down from the sky. Later much of the smoke blew in other directions, yet there was still a general smokiness in the atmosphere. That slightly brown haze colored the light in this early morning view of the canyon of the Tuolumne River.

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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

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