Tag Archives: face

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

Four Oak Trees, El Capitan Meadow

November 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Four black oak trees with early autumn foliage stand in late-afternoon light at El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley.

These four oak trees in El Capitan Meadow are almost iconic, having been photographed by many, many people. On this trip I stopped in El Capitan Meadow near the end of the day – this was my last major shooting location before leaving the Valley for the long trip back to the Bay Area. While there was considerably time left before sunset, because El Capitan Meadow sits to the east of some very tall cliffs, this photograph and others in the series were made just before the list direct light fell on the area. The fact that the areas closer to the cliff faces along the north side of the valley were already in shade helped set off the backlit leaves of the four trees.

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.

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

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

Glacier Point and Ground Fog in Ahwahnee Meadow, Autumn

November 19, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 8 Comments

Thin morning ground fog floats above the dry autumn grasses of Ahwahnee Meadow below the granite cliffs of Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley.

During the cooler and wetter months of the year, ground fog often forms in the meadows of Yosemite Valley. Ahwahnee Meadow is one of the places I like to photograph these conditions, and since this was the morning after a damp and rainy day, I arrived here very early in anticipation of conditions that might produce the fog. It was very cold when I arrived, certainly below freezing by at least a few degrees. At first the fog was much denser and a bit deeper. I have photographs from this earlier pre-dawn period when a herd of deer passed through the meadow. Eventually, as the sun rose high enough that the light beams began to clear the mountains to the east of the Valley, the first light began to strike the upper slopes and walls of Glacier Point. As this happened and the air began to move and the temperature stopped dropping, the fog began to thin. This photograph was made shortly before the fog actually dissipated completely, and thin streamers of mist are broken up by clearer areas.

I have to admit that I do not know what the foreground plant is. (Hint: I won’t mind even a tiny bit if someone wants to write and tell me! :-) Cottony tufts are found at the top of long stems, growing out of odd shaped pods. I shot this with a very wide angle lens so that I could include some of this foreground foliage and the fill width of Glacier Point.

On a technical note, this image incorporates a blend of two exposures. Portions of the sky at the left side of the frame were very bright, while much of the rest of the scene was in shade and a lot darker. Almost the entire frame is from the 1/15 second exposure, but I have manually blended in a bit of the 1/40 second exposure in the area of cloudy sky at upper left in order to retain a bit of detail there. Also, though it should be obvious, this was shot with an ultra-wide angle lens – a 17mm focal length on a full frame DSLR. If you are at all familiar with this location in the Valley you will recognize that this is a bit of an unusual view.

This photograph is 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

Trees in Morning Light, Ahwahnee Meadow, Autumn

November 12, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Trees in Morning Light, Ahwahnee Meadow, Autumn

Morning light on trees in and around Ahwahnee Meadow, Yosemite Valley.

This little grove of trees might be one of the best known groves in Yosemite Valley. It sits apart from other trees out in Ahwahnee Meadow, and it can be an appealing site at various times of the year – in spring when the new leaves are bright green, in winter when the meadow and the trees may be snow-covered, and in fall. I made this photograph at the very end of October when the leaves had begun to change to fall colors and the meadow grasses had gone dormant. I had arrived here very early – before sun rise – and shot for a good hour or more in ground fog conditions. As the morning wore on the layer of fog thinned and finally disappeared completely just before I made this photograph. At about the same time, higher clouds around the rim of the Valley that had blocked the earlier light began to thin and the stronger light hit the meadow and the trees.

This photograph is 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

Oak Trees, Evening, El Capitan Meadow

November 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A grove of oak trees in El Capitan Meadow illuminated by late afternoon light.

What Yosemite photographer hasn’t photographed these oaks, especially the four in the foreground? I know I can’t resist, and I’ve photographed them in every season and in conditions ranging from warm afternoons to winter mornings with snow on the ground. Here I photographed them during the last few minutes of direct light, just before the sun dropped behind ridges to the west, and after the light had already left the meadow, the forest and the Valley walls beyond.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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