Tag Archives: early

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove in Shade

October 17, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A hillside grove of autumn aspens in early morning shadows

I think there may be at least a couple of things worth discussing about this photograph — both from a slightly technical point of view and from an “opportunity” perspective, as in what photographic opportunities might be available in this part of the Sierra when focusing on the subject of autumn aspen trees. The technical issue (though it really turns out to be an aesthetic issue in the end) is one that I’ve discussed before, namely the kinds of light in which one can photograph aspen and other fall color. This photograph was made in fairly deep shade, and the trees stand on a slope of a tall mountain that blocks the morning sun until several hours after sunrise. I went here largely because of that — and the beautiful trees! — because I wanted to photograph in this soft light. Photographing these trees in shade reduces the huge contrast in light levels between highlights and shadows that we must deal with when the trees are lit directly by the sun. The intensity of the colors can increase and the light fills in the shadows, revealing details that disappear in harsh midday light. (One challenge is handling the blue quality of light that comes from the open sky, but that is perhaps a topic for another post.)

The second observation has to do with the types of aspen trees found in the Sierra. People who have seen the huge groves to straight and tall aspens in places like Colorado and Utah often remark on the many small and twisted aspens in the eastern Sierra. They are right to do so — many of “our” aspens are shorter, the groves frequently (though not always) are limited in their extent, and the tall and straight trees are less common. However, that is part of what I like about the Sierra aspens — the variety of “aspen personalities” is remarkable, ranging from brilliantly colorful but very small scrub aspens to some examples of tall and straight trees with thick trunks. This photograph combines the two. The presence of the smaller foreground trees provides color in front of the revealed trunks of this grove of tall and straight trees.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Nevada

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow

September 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light and autumn snow on the walls and towers above Wheeler Cirque, Great Basin National Park

I often return to national parks and other places with which I have developed a personal relationship over a long period of time. But sometimes I do get to visit a brand new place, and I did just that during the last week or so of this year, when I spent five days making the long trip out to Great Basin National Park and back. When I go to a new area like this I intentionally avoid trying to find out too much about it ahead of time, preferring to begin a process of learning the place on my own terms. I already knew a bit about the Great Basin and the basin and range country, and I did look up the location on maps, though I did not take a detailed look at the maps of the park itself. I knew that the park is near the Nevada-Utah border, with Baker, NV being the closest “town,” that Wheeler peak is the second tallest point in Nevada, that there is a glacier nearby, that there are famous caves, and that I could camp along the main road into the park. I left the rest for discovery.

As I drove across highway 50 from California I was surprised to find recent snow on all of the major mountain ranges in Nevada, and by the time I got to Great Basin NP I knew that I would see it there, too. I made this photograph on my final day in the park. I spent the morning exploring a less-visited area accessible via a long gravel road. (Where I discovered, at the wrong time of day, where to find a lot of fall color!) After lunch I went up to the summit of the park road at 10,000’+ and hiked out to the bristlecone pine grove, traveling a good portion of the distance on snow. It was cold — up here in the upper 30s at times during the day — and the sun goes down earlier this time of year, so I set a turn-around time that would get me back to my car before nightfall. I made this photograph within five minutes of the end of my hike, as the late light was slanting across the peaks and cirque walls from low in the west, and as clouds were forming above the summit ridges.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Two Backpackers, Morning

August 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Backpackers along the shoreline of a Sierra Nevada backcountry lake in early morning

We set up a very pleasant camp a ways back from the shoreline of this subalpine lake. Almost all high Sierra camps are pleasant, but this spot was almost luxurious. We were not far from easy access to water, there was a beautiful view from the shoreline, and the campsites themselves were on flat ground among large trees. We even had a few fallen trees and big rocks to use as furniture as we fixed meals and ate together.

In the morning I awoke before sunrise, and I soon got up the energy to climb out of my sleeping bag and put on warm clothes. I crawled out of the tent, grabbed camera equipment, and climbed up onto a knoll from which I had photographed the previous day. From here there was a panoramic view of the surrounding terrain, much of which was still in shadow. Soon a couple of fellow early risers appeared along the shoreline with fishing gear, standing on shoreline rocks and adding a human scale to this scene.

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

High Country, Dawn

August 2, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Just before sunrise, soft light and colorful sky above Yosemite high-country peaks, forest, and meadow.

Sometimes landscape and nature photographers enjoy complaining about certain things required to be in the right places at the right times in order to make photographs of their intended subjects. So, here is a story. The previous day I had been out photographing until the light was gone, and then had to travel back to my dark camp. By the time I finished camp business, it was quite late, and by the time I got to sleep it was less-than-a-full-night’s-sleep until the time I would have to get up. But get up I did, well before dawn. I dressed in the cold and darkness, soon heading out with no coffee or breakfast while the sky was still dark. Before long I began to find potential subjects, even though the light was not yet quite “there.”

Now, behind that story (complaining? false heroism?) is another truth: I feel fortunate to be able to do this! As I ventured out, I found myself almost entirely alone. Even though I was driving on a very popular high country road, I saw almost no one else. Before long the bluish earth shadow line began to drop toward the horizon behind these peaks, and I stopped at a little meadow I know well. Although it is next to the roadway, it was almost completely silent and still, and the meadow plants were covered with dew. I photographed as this brief show of sky color began to fade, and as I finished I thought about the number of people who only come to these places in the middle of the day, and who therefore miss the color and the quiet and the solitude. Is it worth getting out of my sleeping bag in the predawn darkness? Yes!

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: early

Aspen Grove in Shade

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow

Two Backpackers, Morning

High Country, Dawn

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