Tag Archives: forest

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

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning

August 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning backlight catches a group of lodgepole pine trees growing on a series of granite slabs in the high country of Yosemite National Park.

This photograph carries with it what almost amounts to a bit of embarrassment – of the “how did I not see this” category. I have driven past this spot literally scores of times, more likely hundreds of times, and not seen the possible photograph here. In fairness, it was not always at this particular time of day, and it is in a location where it would be natural to be distracted by other visual interests.

In any case, this series of granite slabs on a low dome-like feature is fairly typical of the Sierra high county of Yosemite, and I am always attracted to the combination of the widely separated trees and the glacially-formed granite slabs. Here I was also attracted to the way the main trees were set off against the muted tones of the distant ridge which is still in shadow at the early hour of the day.

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.

keywords: lodgepole, tamarack, pine, granite, dome, slab, benches, morning, light, haze, back, glacial, polish, ledge, forest, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, tioga, pass, road, tenaya, lake, highway, 120, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

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

Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows

August 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Sunset virga drops rain above the summit of Mount Dana and is reflected in a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River.

Earlier on this day I had been caught out without raingear, two hours out from the trailhead on the Sierra crest at Mono Pass, as the thunderstorms began. Apparently a change in the weather pattern had sneaked in without me noticing, and what started as a completely clear morning turned into an afternoon of thundershowers and quite a bit of rain in the Tuolumne region.

For a photographer, this can be good news. All too often, Sierra weather can be what seems like an interminable string of boring, perfect blue sky days. A bit of weather is often a lot more interesting.

Since it had rained all afternoon, I thought there might be a chance of interesting sunset colors if the clouds over the crest stuck around and the clouds to the west cleared enough to allow the light of the setting sun to shine in unimpeded. You almost never know for certain when it comes to these conditions – the best you can do is recognize when they might happen, and then be there to do your work if it happens. You’ll either get some great sunset color… or you’ll be left standing there wondering what happened.

Back in early June I had scouted this location that placed the group of three trees to the right of Lembert dome and placed a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River in the foreground. At that time, while I liked to the potential of the location, there was no interesting light and I did not even go back on that trip to photograph there – I just filed it away in my memory as something to try should I be there when sunset clouds were just right. So when I thought I saw “sunset potential” on this night, I more or less made a bee-line to this spot. I set up my gear, made a composition (and a few variations on it) and waited to see what would happen. Not only did the colors turn on just before sunset, but at that exact time a single cloud dropping virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) appeared above Mount Dana, the distant and highest peak in the photograph.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Shoreline Forest, Whalers Cove

July 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest along the rocky shoreline of Whalers Cove with Big Sur hills rising in to the fog in the background, Point Lobos State Reserve.

At the far point on my hike last weekend I made it to the rocky point above Whalers Cove. Although it was still foggy – and it remained so all day – the light at the edge of the fog was just barely visible along the inland hills above Point Lobos. The diffused and soft light allows more of the details of the forest to be visible (rather than being lost in deep shadow) and the water of the cove was almost completely still on this very calm day.

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 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 160mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, whalers, cover, shore, shoreline, rock, cliff, edge, tree, monterey, cypress, pine, north, trail, fog, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, carmel, hills, mountains, forest, ridge, kelp, water, bay, pacific, coast, ocean, sea, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffside Forest, Point Lobos

July 15, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Thick forest growth along the top of cliffs along the Northside Trail at Point Lobos State Reserve.

The bit of thick forest with a carpet of green plants and yellow flowers grows on the edge of the cliff above the Pacific Ocean along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve. The soft and diffused light from coastal fog allows the colors of the plants to come out, but it also makes for a complex image since even the normally shaded areas are well lit. The idea here was to try to create a very complex image that is somewhat held together by the vertical patterns of the tree trunks.

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 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 140mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/20 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, cypress, pine, tree, forest, grass, plant, flower, cliff, rock, north, side, trail, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, monterey, county, peninsula, big, sure, carmel, coast, highway, one, pacific, shore, line, side, central, stock

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