Tag Archives: evening

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

Forest, Meadow, and Ridge

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Forest, Meadow, and Ridge
“Forest, Meadow, and Ridge” — Cathedral range peaks tower above lodgepole pine forest and subalpine meadow, Yosemite.

After years of photographing now-familiar scenes in this location, I still manage to find angles from which I have not photographed. I had gone to a location near Tuolumne Meadows to see how recent “remodeling” had changed things, and I just happened to look in the right direction from the right spot — and I saw this part of the Cathedral Range in evening light.

I’ve long been fascinated by the Cathedral Range. Years ago I learned that its rock is unusual, featuring large crystals. Once I knew that I began to notice it everywhere in this part of Yosemite. This sub-range runs perpendicular to the main range. Its summits are the typical Yosemite granite in appearance, but their elevation is just right to have allowed them to be significantly glaciated. Yet the peaks are high enough to have the rugged look of summits that were above the ice fields.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Crest, Evening Light

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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

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“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.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Pine Forest, Evening

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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.