Tag Archives: flow

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring

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Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring

Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring. Yosemite National Park, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring runoff water in Tenaya Creek flows over and around two rocks and reflects the colors of spring growth, Yostmite National Park, California.

Starting later than in most years, I made my first 2009 visit to Yosemite Valley on May 9. The plan was to arrive early on Saturday morning (accomplished), photograph spring runoff (accomplished) and dogwoods (accomplished) and spring trees and other foliage (accomplished) and then get a campsite for the night… Oops. The campsites were gone and I ended up a couple of spots too far down the waiting list. So, instead of staying over on Saturday night and shooting a bit more on Sunday morning, I did a round trip from the SF Bay Area. Ah, well – it is worth the drive to spend one spring day in the Valley.

In the late afternoon I wandered on up toward Mirror Lake. I’m not all that enthusiastic about photographing the lake itself, but along the way there are lots of interesting things – this time of year those include dogwood trees and Tenaya Creek, the subject of this photograph. Along the steeper section of the creek close to Mirror Lake, the water was quite high and washing over the tops of some pretty large rocks. When I spotted the greenish surface reflection coming from sunlit trees along the opposite bank of the creek I decided to put the two subjects together – and his was the result.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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keywords: california, sierra nevada, travel, Yosemite, valley, national park, tenaya, creek, spring, season, flow, water, blur, rock, boulder, stream, creek, abstract, color, reflection, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, usa, season, runoff, curve, over, around, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Creekside Fern

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Creekside Fern

Creekside Fern. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lone fern plant grows on the bank of the creek in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I photographed this solitary fern against the background of the main Muir Woods creek flowing across a shallow section of rocky creek bottom. Sometimes I set myself a challenge of trying to find as many photographs as possible in one small area. I paused in this one spot for perhaps 15 minutes or longer, barely moving my tripod as I composed several photographs focusing on details of the surrounding scene. In addition to this fern, I made a series of photographs of new leaves on understory trees against a background of tall redwoods and I photographed the forest floor which was in places covered with redwood sorrel, ferns, and trillium.

(Added later:) Not sure how other photographers approach photographing in a place like this, but here is a bit about how I do it. I walk very slowly. I stop and look around. I make myself look up and down. I go through a sort of mental checklist of potential subjects: tree trunks, close ups of small features, critters, light, people, foliage/flowers, water, juxtapositions of forms and angles, and so on. I spend far more time looking than photographing – sometimes I may amble for a half hour or so at the start before I even take my camera out of the bag.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: creek, stream, brook, water, flow, ripple, wave, motion, blur, rocks, fern, leaf, plant, foliage, needles, branch, moss, bank, edge, green, growth, redwood, forest, grove, muir woods, national monument, california, usa, park, recreation, area, golden gate, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cascade Creek Falls

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Cascade Creek Falls
Cascade Creek Falls. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of Cascade Creek Falls along Big Oak Flat Road into Yosemite Valley, California.

It is hard to imagine a more accessible waterfall than this one. The road into the Valley (the highway 120 route) passes right over this creek, and this photograph was made from the bridge. (This spot is also among my earliest memories of Yosemite, from childhood trips to the park with my parents. This waterfall, cascading down from unseen heights above, suggested to me at that early age that there was something interesting beyond the road. Turns out that this suggestion was right, and I’ve spent some decades enjoying that something. :-)

keywords: california, national park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, big oak flat, road, cascade, creek, fall, water, waterfall, spray, rock, stream, tree, spring, flow, valley, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, boulder

Photographs: Yosemite

Merced River and El Capitan

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MercedElCap2005|05|21: Merced River and El Capitan. Yosemite National Park. May 21, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Merced River and El Capitan. Yosemite National Park. May 21, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This photograph was made during the spring of 2005 when the Merced River was flooding during a very high spring runoff. Here the water is almost spilling over the banks near where it passes by El Capitan.

keywords: el capitan, cap, merced, river, flow, high, water, reflection, cliff, face, morning, tree, forest, meadow, grass, nose, light, spring, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, travel, scenic, sierra, nevada, mountains, stock