Tag Archives: first light

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Shoreline

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Morning Shoreline
Boulders and forest reflected in the quiet water of a Yosemite National Park backcountry lake.

Morning Shoreline. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders and forest reflected in the quiet water of a Yosemite National Park backcountry lake.

This photograph takes me back to 2014, when a group of us spent a week in the Yosemite backcountry. We first visited this lovely lake set in a forested bowl not far from the edge of a big canyon, in an area with lots of beautiful granite slabs, a nearby overlook, and early autumn meadows. We left this spot after a few days and set up another base camp halfway back to our trailhead.

The lake is not a large one, and almost every morning or evening wander along its banks ended up being a circumnavigation. One shoreline was mostly forested, another was dotted with granite boulders, and a smaller area near the outlet stream was more open and flat. I photographed this scene one early morning just before the light of the rising sun managed to angle down to the shoreline.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Peaks, Dawn

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Lake and Peaks, Dawn
The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

Lake and Peaks, Dawn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

There is an earlier photograph of this scene that is very similar to this one, so similar in composition that you might have to see them side-by-side in order to recognize the differences. Due to exposure challenges (deeply shadowed foreground and brightly lit peaks) I made a series of exposures. Recently, while working on a project, I went through the group of images again and decided that this one had some promise, too. I think I’ve decided that I like this one better now!

Our group was camped for a week at this location, a place almost completely surrounded by high, rocky terrain that extended all the way to the Sierra crest. It is a lovely place, full of varied subjects. In fact, I made this photograph less than a minute’s walk from my tent! It almost seems like cheating when I can roll out of my sleeping bag in the morning, crawl out of the tent, walk a 100 feet and start photographing.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Tuolumne Canyon, September

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Tuolumne Canyon, September
Wildfire smoke colors the morning light on domes above the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

Tuolumne Canyon, September. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildfire smoke colors the morning light on domes above the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

Back in 2014 a group of us spent a week photographing in the Yosemite backcountry. We packed in to our first locations, spent a few days there, then moved along and ended up near the location of this photograph in the canyon of the Tuolumne River. While many have an impression of the Tuolumne formed by its leisurely passage through the Tuolumne Meadows area, other sections present a very different view.

Our stop here coincided with a very destructive wildfire in Little Yosemite Valley, and on the afternoon of our arrival the smoke had block the sun as ash floated down from the sky. Later much of the smoke blew in other directions, yet there was still a general smokiness in the atmosphere. That slightly brown haze colored the light in this early morning view of the canyon of the Tuolumne River.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest, Lake, Mountains

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Forest, Lake, Mountains
Distant peaks in early evening light beyond a subalpine lake surrounded by forest, Yosemite National Park.

Forest, Lake, Mountains. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Distant peaks in early evening light beyond a subalpine lake surrounded by forest, Yosemite National Park.

The description of the previous photograph that I shared mentioned a backcountry lake; this is that lake. Beyond the lake is a very large canyon, and the lake itself is surrounded by forest interspersed with some rocky areas and small sections of meadow. Its features are familiar to backcountry travelers who have encountered such forested lakes, and it provides a different experience than the more alpine lakes that I tend to be drawn to.

While we were there I frequently climbed up through the trees and onto a system of rocky slabs where I made this photograph. This one comes from late in the day as the light’s color is beginning to warm up. It was a year of wildfires, and their haze is muting the details and colors of the more distant mountains.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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