Tag Archives: field

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Talus, Reflection

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Talus, Reflection
A talus field of large boulders meets the shoreline of an alpine lake

Talus, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A talus field of large boulders meets the shoreline of an alpine lake

And, yes, another “going with the blue” photograph of talus boulders. It is, I admit, turning into a bit of a theme among my photographs from the September backcountry Eastern Sierra photography week. If you follow my posts you probably already know the following, but for anyone who hasn’t read the previous text… we were camped at a lake in a deep north-south oriented valley with very high peaks on either side. Immediately to the east of our camp, across a nearby lake, was a huge talus slope, full of randomly arranged boulders from top to bottom.

Because of the north-south trend of the canyon, early morning and evening direct light was blocked, and we had long periods of “blue hour” shaded light to work with every day. Yes, the light actually is very blue. It comes from having only the blue sky — a sort of giant natural light panel — as the light sources. The question in post is always how blue to let the scene be, since the actual blue can be shocking to viewers. (Our complex sensory system sees this as less blue — the mental process subconsciously says, essentially, “Yes, this is blue, but I know the actual color of rocks, so I’ll pretend I don’t see the blue!”) The photographer gets to make the subjective call on how blue things should be. At times I’ve gone so far as to completely neutrally the blue tones, and if I did so here you would probably feel that it looked natural. On the other hand, it is interesting to me to “go with the blue” and think about the real color of light and the effect that it has on our perceptions. (To be honest, I have actually reduced the amount of blue in the scene!

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Snow Field, Reflection

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Snow Field, Reflection
A late-season snow field at the base of rugged cliffs, reflected in the surface of a High Sierra lake

Snow Field, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A late-season snow field at the base of rugged cliffs, reflected in the surface of a High Sierra lake

I can say a few things concerning both the objective facts about this scene and about my subjective reaction to it. The facts: We walked to this lake frequently during our September photographic sojourn in the Eastern Sierra backcountry. It wasn’t far from our base camp at another nearby lake, and if we walked directly there it might take all of 10-15 minutes — though, as photographers, our walks are hardly ever direct, more often devolving into stop-and-go affairs as we are distracted by various subjects. The snow bank and the steep wall above the lake were most often in shadow, and by evening the light could become quite dim.

There are many ways I could (and perhaps did) photograph this subject, but here I wanted to focus on the contrast between the form of the bright snow field and the much darker surroundings of cliffs, talus, and shadowed lake. Late in the day a long shadow began along the talus field and gradually advanced across the lake, darkening the water and the surrounding forest and rocks. After sunset, my impression of the place was of stillness and oncoming darkness, and I wanted this version of the photograph to suggest these things.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Late-Season Color, Lake and Mountains

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Late-Season Color, Lake and Mountains
Late-season color surrounds a subalpine lake beneath talus fields and cliff

Late-Season Color, Lake and Mountains. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-season color surrounds a subalpine lake beneath talus fields and cliff

This lake was just “up the block” from our campsite in the Sierra backcountry this past September. We were there in roughly the third week of the month, base-camped near a lake from which we could explore large areas of the surrounding territory. These surroundings were filled with an abundance of small lake, forest, and plenty of rocky scenery, from talus fields to high peaks.

On several evenings I wandered up the path from our campsite in order to get to nearby lakes that lay at a somewhat higher elevation. These lakes were still surrounded by trees, albeit increasingly small trees and often with space between them. This lake had a lovely growth of tall grasses along its inlet stream, and here I have photographed it against the background of a huge cliff that was nearby.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Grassy Shoreline, Talus Fields

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Grassy Shoreline, Talus Fields
Grasses grow along the marshy shoreline of an alpine lake backed by a glaciated terrain and a huge talus field

Grassy Shoreline, Talus Fields. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Grasses grow along the marshy shoreline of an alpine lake backed by a glaciated terrain and a huge talus field

To illustrate just how long it took the sun to reach our camp near this subalpine lake, by the time I made this photograph I had already been up long enough to walk the length of the lake, make many photographs, and walk nearly all the way back to camp! Sunrise was actually much earlier, but the very tall ridge (see in the distance in the photograph) blocked the light for the first few hours of the day. If you look carefully you may notice the upper slopes are softly lit by light reflected from peaks on the other side of the valley, behind and to the right of my camera position.

In this extended morning twilight the quality of the place was special. It was quiet and still — the water on the lake was still mirror-like. Soft light gently illuminated the scene, and a few subjects that were more colorful stood out — as seen in the early autumn colors of some of the foreground grasses. It was a time to walk slowly and alone along the shoreline, taking my time to enjoy and photograph this quiet landscape.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook |
Email

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