Tag Archives: field

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Tarn, Great Western Divide

August 18, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The peaks of the Great Western Divide tower above a small alpine tarn reflecting afternoon light, Sequoia National Park.

Our original goal on this late-July, early-August southern Sierra backpacking trip was to be Lake South America, a very high, very barren, and very remote lake in the upper reaches of the Kern River basin in Sequoia National Park. Believe it or not, I’ve thought of visiting this lake for decades, ever since a very early pack trip on which I planned to go there but ended up bypassing the lake and exiting in Mineral King. (Mineral King is nowhere near Lake South America. It is a long story… :-)

After staying on the JMT at Tyndall Creek the night before, we headed up over the ridge to the northwest in the morning. After walking up a broad and mosquito infested marshy valley, we climbed the steep headwall at the upper end of this valley and looked down at a lake on the other side. Just beyond this lake was Lake South America. Oddly, when we arrived we were not tremendously excited by the scene. Yes, it is a wild and high place in the heart of the Sierra, but for some reason it seemed a bit like many other high, barren lakes we had visited before… and we decided to make only a very brief visit and then move on.

This turned out to be a great decision. After returning to the lake that we had passed just prior to the short side trip to Lake South America, we picked up a trail heading towards the head waters of the Kern and eventually dropped down to a set of about four beautiful lakes just below treeline. The lakes, unnamed as far as I can tell, seem to sit at the edge of a valley with the high and jagged peaks of the Great Western Divide just beyond, providing one of the most rugged and spectacular scenes I’ve encountered in the Sierra. Needless to say, we decided to camp here despite the mosquito hatch that was currently underway.

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.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are 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

Melting Ice, Cathedral Range

July 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Winter ice melts on an alpine lake with the peaks of the Cathedral Range on the skyline, Yosemite National Park, California.

We hiked to this 10,000’+ lake near the Sierra crest in the late afternoon on the second-to-last day of June to photograph in the evening light, and were surprised at the amount of ice remaining in the lake and at the amount of snow still filling this small basin. Although the photograph was made during summer, the scene looks distinctly winter-like!

The lake was almost completely ice covered still, though the surface was covered with melt-water pools and there was a small bit of open water right along the shoreline at one end of the lake. The patterns of alternating ice and water were endlessly interesting, and the color variations produced by ice and water reflecting the blue light of the sky changed as the hour became later and as a few clouds floated near the crest.

Tuolumne Meadows aficionados will recognize the snow-covered peaks of the Cathedral range on the skyline, especially the distinctive summit of Cathedral Peak at the far 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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 82mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/25 second

keywords: cathedral, range, sierra, nevada, mountain, peak, ridge, alpine, ice, covered, melt, thaw, lake, pond, gaylor, basin, snow, field, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, blue, rocky, tree, timberline, water, pool, sky, stock

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

Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning

June 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of backlit Half Dome framed by steep Yosemite Valley canyon walls including the face of El Capitan.

Allow me one more photograph in the recent sequence of black and white photographs of “Yosemite icons.” On most drives into and out of the Valley I stop and look at this scene and frequently try to photograph it if the conditions are special. In the morning there is often haze here, and this creates an effect of atmospheric recession from the half dozen or so layers in the scene. It is a tricky thing – a bit too much haze and the details of forest and rock can become almost invisible; too little haze and the contrast between brightly lit highlights (like the patch of snow on Half Dome) and the deep shadows can become quite stark. The image I have in mind includes the effect of atmosphere-highlighted distance, the effect of back-lighting on the trees (most obvious here perhaps at the lower left), and the abstract nature of the different intersecting slopes and faces.

A technical note: I used the Canon 5D2 with the EF 100-400mm zoom at 365mm to make this photograph. Some doubt that a zoom like this can produce enough resolution, but at full size I can just barely make out a couple people on the snow bank atop Half Dome. Sharp enough for me!

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 365mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/400 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, valley, half, dome, el capitan, forest, ridge, mountain, cliff, face, back, light, trees, atmosphere, recession, distance, sky, snow, patch, field, summit, canyon, bright, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa, north america, mariposa, county, haze, stock, black and white, monochrome, morning, highway, 120, icon

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

Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake

June 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Black and white photograph of early season ice on the surface of Tenaya Lake with high granite peaks and domes beyond, Yosemite National Park, California.

A long-lens version of the classic view of Tenaya Lake from Olmsted Point, made on the day that Tioga Pass Road opened for the season and while ice still covered almost all of the surface of the lake. Peaks and domes tower above the lake, including the heights of Mount Conness near the upper left. In a larger version of this photograph, many seasonal waterfalls are visible along the sides of the cliffs and domes.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 210mm
ISO 200, f/5.1, 1/400 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, california, usa, north america, tenaya, lake, dome, conness, peak, ridge, snow, ice, field, forest, granite, cliff, june, olmsted, point, landscape, nature, cloud, sky, black and white, monochrome, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, trans, scenic, travel, stock

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