Tag Archives: drift

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

Forest, Fog

March 16, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog drifts among the trees of a Yosemite Valley forest on a winter morning

A winter morning is almost always a good time to seek out fog in the meadows of Yosemite Valley, but things did not look too promising on this particular morning. We were up very early—well before dawn—and out and about. Since we had photographed from a higher spot with expansive views the previous morning, today it seemed like a good idea to look for more intimate scenes, so we began to check out a few of the centrally located meadows where the fog often forms. However, first looks revealed perfectly clear air. We wandered a bit more and eventually ended up near Curry Village where there was one fog-filled meadow. As far as we could tell, Stoneman Meadow was the only place in the Valley with the conditions we were looking for.

In much the same way that valley-filling fog can move back and forth, thicken and thin, rise and fall, the fog in this meadow was constantly changing. At first the rapid changes made it seem that the fog might be dissipating, so I began shooting fairly quickly, hoping to get something before it was gone. But soon there was a surprising resurgence of the fog, which drifted across the meadow into surrounding trees, rose higher, and hid the view. As it again began to thin I turned my attention to a bit of nearby dense forest and photographed the trees, late and small, as the fog gradually faded away.

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

Forest and Valley Fog

March 14, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Thick winter fog drifts among Yosemite Valley trees

Yes. Another foggy photograph. And perhaps not the last from this visit to Yosemite Valley at the beginning of March, though perhaps the final one from this particular vantage point. No guarantees, though. ;-)

At the risk of repetition, this fog drifting among the forest trees on the floor of Yosemite Valley and occasionally sloshing back and forth and rising up in front of cliffs, waterfalls, and domes was in continuous motion. While the big scene changed more slowly, the smaller vignettes within it changed very quickly. At times I would spot a potentially interesting bit of foggy landscape, swing my camera in that direction and frame up a composition… only to find that it had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. While some landscape photographs may be carefully and slowly and thoughtfully composed, this moody subject seems to require a lot of quick, instinctive shooting. Here I quickly rotated the camera to a vertical position so that I could include near and far trees, adjusted the focal length to keep an interesting combination of trees and fog in the frame… and keep some other extraneous elements out. I often wonder how people see an image of a scene at which I was present, and how different their impressions and interpretations might be. Mine were related to the dampness in the air, the muted light, the overall quite and stillness of the scene, and the nearby presence of several friends who were also shooting here on this morning.

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

Forest, Drifting Fog

March 6, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter evening fog drifts among forest trees, Yosemite National Park

Winter is a special time in Yosemite Valley, and during the first weekend of March it was special for all the usual reasons and a few others. The Yosemite Renaissance XXIX opening reception opening took place on Friday and the Range of Light Film Festival was going on all weekend. Not only did this provide opportunities to view beautiful interpretations of the Sierra and the park by a wide range of visual artists, but it also meant that the place was full of painters, sculptures, photographers, and film-makers, among whom were a good number of personal friends. It seemed like wherever I went I found people I knew. Many were doing their work, but there was a relaxed quality that led to plenty of sitting on rocks, looking at views, conversations, and even a few dinners.

But even without all of that, the Valley seems to me to be at almost its most attractive at this time of year. We arrived on a rainy late afternoon, with snow falling along the upper reaches of the Valley. Clouds and fog and mist were everywhere, blocking the light one moment and then moving to allow bits of light here and there to highlight ridges, trees, cliffs, and peaks. Even photographers who usually shoot somewhere else headed to familiar lookouts such as Tunnel View, and I found myself there more than once. For me, the primary attractions of that place at this time of year — in addition to running into friends and yakking it up — are the vignettes of bits of cloud-shrouded ridges and trees above and the frequent fogs floating through the forest on the Valley floor. So I put on a long lens and pointed the camera either up or down towards these subjects and watched the show. As I was photographing the fog drifting among trees down in the Valley, as in this photograph, I remarked to a nearby photographer friend that this subject forced me to toss out any attempt to work slowly and thoughtfully and methodically. The fog was inconstant motion among the trees and momentary compositions would coalesce in one or another part of the Valley below, only to disappear as quickly as they had appeared. In the time it takes to carefully frame and compose an image the momentary subject would simply disappear, either become completely obscured or else losing its magic as the fog thinned. Quick and instinctive work was and is the only thing that works here!

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Marsh Grasses and Fog, Dawn

November 26, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I went to this place to photograph birds – at least that was my excuse. In the past few years I have become passionate about photographing migratory birds in the Great Central Valley of California between late fall and early spring – geese, cranes, herons, ibises, and more. Once you hear the cries of these birds as thousands of them flock together on the ground or in water or, better yet, as they fly overhead, you can become obsessed. In the fall I anticipate their return and watch for early signs. A few weeks ago we managed to find cranes further up the valley, and I knew that the geese wouldn’t be far behind – so this trip was, literally, a “wild goose chase.”

But the truth is a bit more involved. As much as I love the birds, I think that I’m at least as attracted to landscapes where they are found, and to the weather conditions of this season. You might think that a bird photographer would want clear skies and bright light, but I look forward more to fog, clouds, and mist and other kinds of interesting atmosphere. It occurs to me that the birds may partially be my excuse for visiting this landscape. I was expected that it might be clear on this morning, so I was happy (strange photographer!) when I drove into thick fog a few miles from my destination. I arrived just before dawn as the sky was somewhere in that color range between blue and purple and pink, but just barely visible though the murk. I made a few true sunrise photographs that included a barely visible sun behind fog and clouds, then moved on along a gravel road to try to locate the cranes that I could hear. As I came to a right angle turn, the fog stretched beyond the nearby grasses and straight toward the low sun in front of me, thick enough that all details in the distance disappeared (with the exception of a few barely visible birds) into a luminous glow that was almost painfully intense

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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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Tag Archives: drift

Forest, Fog

Forest, Drifting Fog

Marsh Grasses and Fog, Dawn

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