Tag Archives: forest

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

Sierra Crest Tarn

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Sierra Crest Tarn
“Sierra Crest Tarn” — Clouds over Mammoth Peak and a Tioga Pass tarn.

Sometimes when I visit the Sierra I cover surprising distances to get from location to location. But I devoted the entirety of my mid-September visit to the Yosemite high country to locations between Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass. I made this photograph from as far east as I went, right at the pass, where small tarns dot a landscape of meadows and small trees.

This can be a green and even lush place early in the season, but by the end of summer the meadows dry out and turn “California golden.” I made the photographer relatively early in the morning, when clouds were just beginning to build above Mammoth Peak and the Kuna Crest.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake, Peninsula, and Reflections

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Lake, Peninsula, and Reflections
“Lake, Peninsula, and Reflections” — Morning sun comes to a rocky peninsula at a wilderness lake reflecting gigantic talus slopes, Inyo National Forest.

Reflections in the waters of high country lakes always provide interesting photographic subjects. This lake, located just outside the northeast boundary of Yosemite National Park, produces some of the largest and most abstract shapes that I know of. The combination of open terrain and huge talus slopes are the keys.

I photographed here in the early morning, while my non-photographer backpacking partners were still snug and warm in their sleeping bags. The light had worked its say down the distant slope and across most of the lake — you can see the edge of the shadow on the rocks at center right.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Dawn, Fog, and Frost

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Dawn, Fog, and Frost
“Dawn, Fog, and Frost” — Dawn fog drifts above frost-covered landscape at Tuolumne Meadows.

During most of the summer months, after the snow clears out (usually) by June, this meadow is a green place, often sunny, warm and inviting. I’ve been known to wander out into it and sit on the banks of the river or perch myself on a rock to admire the view. But as summer ends and autumn approaches, things change — the meadow becomes dry, temperatures begin to moderate, and before long it is clear that the brief summer season is ending.

This was one of those “autumn is coming” mornings. I arrived to find low fog drifting above frost-covered ground. I had to work quickly as this kind of fog usually doesn’t stick around for long, and the frost would melt when the sun rose. But for a few moments in this predawn light, it truly felt like winter in this meadow.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Trees, Pond, and Morning Mist

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Trees, Pond, and Morning Mist
“Trees, Pond, and Morning Mist” — Late-Summer morning mist rises from a subalpine pond surrounded by dense forest.

I have driven past this lake for years — decades actually — but I’ve only stopped a few times and hardly ever tried to photograph it. Until this year. Earlier this summer I was there on a morning after rain, and the little basin was full of luminous fog. On this mid-September visit the weather was wet, foo, and I had to stop and photograph when I saw more fog.

There is a sort of classic view of this feature, and I did make some photographs from that perspective. But then I decided to wander along the side of the pond, reaching its end and then walking back through forest. From that perspective, the view through the trees caught my attention, so I positioned myself behind a few backlit shoreline trees to make this photograph.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.