Tag Archives: falls

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

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist

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Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist
Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist. Yosemite National Park, California. October 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow emerge from drifting storm clouds, Yosemite Valley.

When I traveled to Yosemite Valley this past weekend I knew that rain was coming on Saturday – and I was happy about this since I love photographing the Valley in rainy and misty weather. I made a plan to photograph, among other things, what I expected would be cloud and mist floating among the cliffs, trees, and waterfalls of the Valley – and I wasn’t disappointed!

This is a photograph of a Yosemite icon, Upper Yosemite Fall. As clouds drifted across the face near the fall and into the valleys above, from time to time there would be a bit of clearing. Occasionally a clear view of the waterfall would even appear for a moment. At this moment in time, the spire of “Lost Arrow” also appeared along the side of the cliff at the upper right.

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.

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

Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge

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Cottonwood Grove, Shadow's Edge


Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A grove of autumn cottonwood trees in the last sun as late afternoon shadows fall across the floor of Yosemite Valley near Yosemite Falls.

Late in the afternoon on Halloween this year I was in Leidig Meadow in Yosemite Valley watching the light dim along the cliff faces near Yosemite Falls. As the shadow moved across the Valley toward the meadow it lit this row of cottonwood trees growing between the meadow and the banks of the Merced River.

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.

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

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

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Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color in a meadow near Yosemite Falls – Yosemite Valley, California.

I decided to push the boundaries of “ideal shooting time” on this one – it was made less than an hour before noon in midday light that might often have me starting to take my midday break. I think two things made it possible to shoot this subject in this somewhat difficult light. First, the light coming through the leaves of these black oaks (and to some extent the cottonwoods in the distance) creates an effect that it not typical of midday shooting. Secondly, the deeply shaded cliff walls along the south side of The Valley gave me a background that was not harshly lit. (The bright grasses in the meadow were a bit tough, but I think they are under control here.)

It might surprise some to find out that this landscape image was made using a relatively long lens – a 70-200mm zoom at about 130mm. Here it helped me control the composition – making the trees seem a bit closer to one another and affecting the area of the cliff seen 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.

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Yosemite Falls, Autumn Rain

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Yosemite Falls, Autumn Rain

Yosemite Falls, Autumn Rain. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite Falls and Valley meadow and forest in an autumn rain storm.

Another photograph from my rainy early-November weekend in Yosemite Valley. On Saturday the storm was coming in and as the day wore on the rain increased. As I photographed the nearly leafless trees in the meadows in sight of Yosemite Falls, the rain increased to the point that the Falls were almost completely obscured, although the rain also created a wonderful misty atmosphere and muted the fall colors.

A note about shooting in the rain… I foolishly removed my umbrella from my bag before I left on this trip. What was I thinking?! A good umbrella may be almost your most important piece of photographic equipment when shooting in conditions like these. Instead I ended up using an alternative set of strategies. (I did try to find an umbrella at the Yosemite Village store… but I couldn’t bring myself to buy a souvenir umbrella with big bear footprints all over it. :-) I have a nice Goretex rain hat that almost exactly covers my 5D and my lenses, so the main plan was to get everything set up and ready to shoot and then put the hat on top. While the tripod got wet the camera stayed reasonably dry – well, OK, not too wet. A little moisture on the outside of the camera body doesn’t concern me too much, though these conditions were such that I had to be pretty careful and use a towel on the camera and lens every time I returned to the car.

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