Tag Archives: forest

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way

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Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way
“Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way” — Fog drifts across forest trees and mountains along the Great Glen Way.

Understanding a new landscape often takes time. Scotland’s is quite different from any that I’m familiar with. Much of it is green lowlands, and here along the Great Glen Way water is everywhere. There are mountains, though they seem low to this California photographer used to peaks that tower above 14,000 feet. Yet they can be quite rugged, and that ruggedness seems to come on quite suddenly. And then there is the weather! Most days were in the 60s, it was often cloudy, and we dealt with precipitation on about a third of the days or more on our walk — like on this day.

On this morning we had started — as we did almost every morning — by walking out the door of our lodgings in the lowlands. The route soon climbed into those Scottish mountains, and it remained cloudy and damp with fog drifting in and out. One moment we had decently clear views beneath the clouds; the next moment the fog would drift up from the valley and obscure the scene. The overall effect was dark and dramatic in a way that I rarely encounter in the Sierra Nevada “Range of Light.”

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: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Telford Bridge, River Moriston

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Telford Bridge, River Moriston
“Telford Bridge, River Moriston” — The River Moriston flows past the historic Telford Bridge at Invermoriston, Scotland.

We came to the historic Telford Bridge at the end of a long day on the Great Glen Way walk, as we entered the small town of Invermoriston. There were a few surprises at the end of the day. For one, as we came down the last hill the town appeared to be right in front of us, but then the route headed off to the right to take us to bridge across the river. Soon after the crossing we came to the Telford Bridge. All in all, it was a wonderful walk, full of cloudy views of Loch Ness and the Scottish countryside.

The name of the bridge refers to the same Thomas Telford who conceived of the Caledonian Canal connecting Inverness and Fort William, along with many other projects in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The original bridge was constructed over the River Morriston in 1839. (The current structure dates to 1913.) As a side note, seeing the River Moriston flowing past the town of Invermoriston as we walked toward Invernes… a mental lightbulb came on and I wondered, “What does ‘inver’ mean, and why does it keep showing up in place names?” In turns to that an inver is a place where bodies of water (typically a lake and a river) meet.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Monterey Cypress, Fog

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Monterey Cypress, Fog
“Monterey Cypress, Fog” — Summer fog drifts across monterey cypress trees at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This was a wonderful morning at Point Lobos in more than one way. It was my escape from the oppressive inland heat — here is was 58 degrees with thick fog rolling across the landscape. It was not at all crowded, at least not at first, since I managed to arrive when the reserve opened. I spent the morning ambling slowly along trails near bluffs along the north shore, where Monterey cypress trees cling to the edges of the cliffs above the ocean.

This photograph was more of a challenge than it might appear. The textures and colors of the trees were quite attractive, but the gently glowing fog was quite a lot brighter. This is one of those photographs that I expose for what I intend to do in post, and not to try to “capture” the literal scene in the camera. I was faced with the (common) challenge of an extremely wide dynamic range, so I exposed for the bright fog and planned to bring back the details in the shadows among the trees in post.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

The Old Cypress

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The Old Cypress
“The Old Cypress” — An old, gnarled monterey cypress grows along the cliffs of Point Lobos State Reserve.

Recently California and the West have been suffering through long periods of extreme heat. Fortunately, I live close enough to the coast that I can get over there on the worst days. I knew it was going to be hot so I got up early and drove to Point Lobos just south of Carmel, where I found thick fog and temperatures in the upper 50s. The fog typically pulls back from the coast fairly quickly on hot days, but this time it stuck around in o the afternoon. I spent the morning hours photographing here before heading back home where it ended up about 40 degrees warmer.

This is a fascinating specimen of Monterey cypress, a tree that is native here and only a couple of other locations. At Point Lobos many of them grow along the edges of steep cliffs, especially along the north shore, and this old tree is hanging onto its perch seeming by a thread.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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