Tag Archives: fall

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

Fog-Shrouded Curving Ridges, Yosemite Valley

December 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees and rocks emerge from fog flowing over curving ridges on the rim of Yosemite Valley during an autumn storm.

This may be the final photograph from the “fog shrouded cliffs” series that came from my late October visit to Yosemite Valley during a fall storm. Since I’ve described this series in some detail previously, I’ll try to keep this comment short. I initially had my eye on the pinnacle at the lower left, and it became a more prominent subject in other photographs in this series. But as I photographed it I was attracted to the angles formed by the foreground ridge rising from left to right and the upper ridge beyond rising the opposite direction. (I think it is the same ridge, with the two sections joined directly above the pinnacle.) The fog/clouds were in constant motion, at one moment almost completely obscuring the scene and a moment later revealing portions of the landscape. For a brief instant the pinnacle stood clear of the clouds and bot sections of the upper ridge were visible.

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: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Mount Tom, Late Afternoon Light in Round Valley

December 8, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Mount Tom rises above Round Valley as afternoon autumn light falls on trees and pastures.

I drive past this spot every time I pass through the Bishop area in the eastern Sierra. Descending toward Bishop, Highway 395 passes through Round Valley, and I am always intrigued by the rangeland in this area, the trees that grow in the pastures, and the steep eastern slopes of the Sierra beyond. I have an image of these trees with fall colors backed by the lower slopes of the mountains… but that is a photograph that so far only exists in my mind! At some point I want to find time to really photograph this spot, but in the meantime I often stop and occasionally explore here a bit as I pass through.

My early October visit was a bit too early for real fall color in Round Valley, though a few trees were starting to turn here and there. As I drove north from the Bishop area I wasn’t expecting really spectacular color, but as I started up the grade that leaves this valley I caught a glimpse of warm light on these trees as the sun was about to drop behind the ridge. I didn’t quite have time to pull over and turn around so I continued up the road a distance and finally located a turn-around, reversed direction, and headed back down to the spot where I had seen this light. It was almost gone when I arrived, even though it had only been a few minutes. Using the lens that was already on the camera I quickly set up my tripod and managed a few exposures as the light left the groves of trees in the foreground.

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

Fall Leaves, Lundy Canyon

December 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Leaves transition from summer to fall colors in a deeply shaded area of forest in Lundy Canyon.

Since it was the second week of October, and the time at which I’ve seen Lundy Canyon aspens change color in the past, I headed up into the canyon on the last day of this visit to the eastern Sierra to look for aspen color. As I drove up the canyon from highway 395 I could see some brilliant color far above on the ridges above the canyon, but I wasn’t seeing much down in the bottom of the canyou. I continued up the canyon past Lundy Lake and the resort – closed up for the season – and then continued on the one-lane dirt road that goes on up to the trailhead, passing some flooded flats along the way. There is often color in these areas and then again in the grove of aspens near the trailhead… but not this time.

(Looking back on this “aspen season” from an early-December perspective, it was a bit of a strange one. It seemed to begin early at the higher elevations and there were stunningly colorful trees up high during the first week of October. However, storms soon came in and took down many leaves – and then there was a “dead zone” period of nearly two weeks before the color resumed at lower elevations. This visit to Lundy Canyon took place near the start of this slow period.)

After figuring out that the color I had coming looking for was not to be found, I started back down the canyon. I stopped briefly by the ponds but the light was not quite what I was looking for – it was still a bit too early in the afternoon and the light was harsh and coming from the “wrong” direction for my purposes. However, elsewhere in the canyon I decided that I had to photograph something before leaving the canyon for a planned evening shoot nearby, so I simply pulled out on a short dirt side road where I had earlier seen some tree trunks leaning against rocks. It turned out that I couldn’t find a composition there either – sometimes this is just the way it goes! However, I found these leaves nearby next to the path I had taken down to the river. I thought that the contrast between the green and yellow and the very dark forest floor might be interesting, so I put on a long lens (to minimize depth of field and to give myself some working distance) and I made a few exposures.

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

Upper Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Autumn Storm Clouds

December 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Autumn storm clouds swirl around the Upper Yosemite Fall, Lost Arrow, and the cliffs of Yosemite Valley.

Shooting with a long lens, I watched as the clouds floated in and out of this scene, at times almost completely obscuring Upper Yosemite Fall and then clearing. At this instant the clouds cooperated for a few seconds, lining up so that the fall was completely visibly, parting enough to let the pinnacle of the Lost Arrow appear at upper left, and revealing just a bit of the tree covered ridge in the background. A few seconds later the clouds again thickened and this view was gone.

I posted a black and white version of the same photograph perhaps two weeks ago. I have since printed the monochrome version and I like it a great deal. Today I returned to these files and since I feel that it also works in color I decided to post it again.

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.