Tag Archives: forest

Photographs: Nature

Wildfire Smoke, Early Morning

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Wildfire Smoke, Early Morning
layers of thick wildfire smoke obscure the morning light

Wildfire Smoke, Early Morning. Along US 395, California. September 18, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

layers of thick wildfire smoke obscure the morning light

This was the culmination of more than twelve hours of observation of a developing wildfire located east of the Sierra Nevada, roughly between Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes. The previous evening I finished a hike into the Sierra backcountry not far from Tioga Pass, returning to my car well after sunset. As I drove back down Lee Vining Canyon in the near-darkness I saw a big tower of smoke to the southeast and the tell-tale glow of fire on the bottom of the cloud. The next morning I woke up and headed straight back toward Mono Lake, from which I figured I could photograph conditions related to the fire.

I began photographing Mono Lake itself, where the lake was still mostly visible with only a few thin smoke clouds floating over it. But very soon this changed as winds brought the smoke right over Mono Lake, casting a pall over the scene all the way up to Conway Summit. My goal was to head south along the eastern escarpment, but as I did so the smoke only became thicker. I made this photograph at a point closer to the fire, where the smoke was very, very thick, enough so to take away most of the sunlight and add a post-apocalyptic quality to the scene.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

East Side, Morning

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East Side, Morning
Early morning light on the hills and peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada near June Lake

East Side, Morning. Along US 395 near June Lake, California. September 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light on the hills and peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada near June Lake

I’ve occasionally written about my “discovery” of the Sierra Nevada east side perhaps two decades ago. Like so many from Northern California, my orientation to the range came from arriving by driving east across the Great Central Valley and then making the long, gradual ascent from the Valley to the summit of the range, a summit whose peaks are often not even visible from that Valley. (But when they are, what a sight!) I thought of the Sierra as being a place of mostly forested mountains, rising gradually, and only topped by the rugged granite peaks at is furthest point. Then a friend, whose orientation was from Southern California and who had approached the range from the South, got me (finally!) to visit the east side of the range.

What a difference! Here the mountains begin in semi-arid high desert sage brush country. They mostly rise abruptly along the eastern escarpment, with rocky ridges and summits exposed to view. The range immediately has an alpine quality that is quite different from the gentle forested slopes of the west side. Yet it, too, is varied. In some places the abrupt and rugged steepness is real — some of the ridges just above Round Valley, for example. But in other locations that “abrupt” escarpment is more subtle, the result of starting at even higher desert elevations (in the 8000′ range in some places) and due to some very large canyons cutting toward the summit of the range. For examples, visit the huge valley that rises above Bishop, or consider these sage and tree covered slopes gradually ascending toward the inevitable granite cliffs in the vicinity of June Lake.

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

Summer’s End

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Summer's End
Late summer meadow and forest, Yosemite National Park

Summer’s End. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late summer meadow and forest, Yosemite National Park

I missed much of summer in the Sierra this season since we were traveling. Soon after we came back to California I managed to squeeze in a few “going home” days in the Yosemite high country during the week following the exit of the Labor Day Holiday crowds. Following my midday arrival and camp setup (and a nap to compensate for my early wake up call that morning) I decided that I’d head out a familiar trail toward an alpine lake that I’ve frequently visited in the past. As it turns out I started a bit too late, and when I hit my predetermined halfway time I hadn’t made it the goal — so I just found a rock and sat quietly for a while before turning around.

Every summer, far before autumn actually begins, I see the early signs of the coming seasonal change. I missed the first hints since I wasn’t there in August. (Though I did see a few early leaves change color in Italy at that time.) But on this early September day the signs were all there. The meadows have turned that familiar golden brown color. Red bilberry plants glow in the low angle backlight. Corn lily plants have lost their green lushness and now turn brown and topple over. A few yellow leaves begin to appear on willows, and here and there it is even possible to find a few aspen trees with premature yellow leaves. Less concretely, there is something I’ve never quite been able to define about the light and the atmosphere, though it is plainly obvious to me that it has changed. Summer is ending in the Sierra, and the inevitable arrival of autumn and winter is just around the corner.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Domes, Haze, Morning

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Domes, Haze, Morning
Morning light and haze, granite domes and peaks

Domes, Haze, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. July 14, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light and haze, granite domes and peaks

This is a scene no doubt very familiar to visitors to the Yosemite National Park high country, though perhaps fewer would see it at this time of day — I know that when I am out photographing during the early morning like this I am often surprised by how few people manage to get up and see this beautiful time of day! The scene includes domes, mountains, and a bit of forest at the upper end of Tenaya Lake.

The difference here is that I used a very long lens to photograph the scene, thus eliminating the lake and the higher peaks that stand in the distance. The long lens also intensifies the effect of atmospheric haze by condensing it, here muting the details of the distant peak the stands in front of Mount Conness.

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 | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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