Tag Archives: evening

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Crest, Evening Light

Image Leave a comment
Sierra Crest, Evening Light
“Sierra Crest, Evening Light” — Early evening light on a copse of small trees, a bit of meadow, and peaks leading to the Sierra Nevada crest.

This photograph seems to me to have the “classic Sierra Nevada” backcountry “range of light” look. It is from my favorite terrain, those places just below timberline where the trees are short and rocky meadows abound, and where there are open views of alpine peaks. Even better, I made this photograph very late in the day as the evening light was beginning to warm the colors of the landscape.

It was a joy to spend a few days in this backcountry location with friends back in July. We did a low-key loop just outside of Yosemite, to the east of the park. The highest peaks in the photograph sit right on the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and the park is on the other side of that ridge.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline, Pond, and Mountains

Image Leave a comment
“Shoreline, Pond, and Mountains” — Early evening sun lingers on the shoreline of a small pond beneath the Sierra Nevada crest.

This pond was a frequent subject when I camped nearby on a mid-July backpacking trip into the Sierra Nevada. We camped just below the crest of the range east of Yosemite National Park. This valley holds numerous lakes, and we camped at one of the larger ones. The pond shown in the photo was nearby — less than a one minute walk from my campsite.

I photographed this subject both early and late in the day, the times when the light is more agreeable. This photo comes from early on my evening photography outing, when the shadows were just beginning to lengthen and stretch across the landscape.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Pine Forest, Evening

Image Leave a comment
Pine Forest, Evening
“Pine Forest, Evening” — A High Sierra pine forest in soft evening light.

This is an example of what a photographer friend has called “quiet photographs.” There’s no astonishing sunset, no peak piercing the clouds, no spectacular waterfall… just a quiet scene of the sort that characterizes much of our experience in the wild. I love those over-the-top astonishing moments, but I equally love the quiet, still moments and scenes like this one.

This particular scene is along the edge of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park’s high country. No one else was there (hard to believe?) and the sun had just set. These trees, the ubiquitous lodgepole pines, stand near the edge of the the open meadow, and the meadow hasn’t entirely given up to them yet, as you can see from the open spacing of the trees and the short green foliage along the ground.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Pond and Peaks, Evening

Image Leave a comment
Pond and Peaks, Evening
“Pond and Peaks, Evening” — Eveing light on a subalpine pond beneath Sierra Nevada crest peaks.

This seems like a classic Sierra Nevada backcountry scene — a lovely subalpine lake (or in this case pond), soft and warm evening light, a bit of meadow, a forest, boulders, and the highest peaks looming beyond, still holding a bit of snow from the past winter. There is hardly anything finer than to find a comfortable rock, lean back, and simply watch such a scene as day transitions to night.

Truth be told, while I do certainly get to experience these scenes — as I did on this late-July backpack trip earlier this summer — I almost never sit back and just watch at this time of day. While I deeply appreciate all of the sensations evoked by a scene like this one, something familiar to me from decades in these mountains, the camera calls… and you are far more likely to find me out exploring with my camera than sitting back against that comfortable rock!

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.