Tag Archives: forest

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

Dogwood Blossoms, Forest

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Dogwood Blossoms, Forest
Spring dogwoods bloom under the canopy of a Yosemite Valley forest.

Dogwood Blossoms, Forest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Spring dogwoods bloom under the canopy of a Yosemite Valley forest.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t thinking about dogwood blossoms when I made plans to visit Yosemite Valley the week before the Memorial Day holiday. I was so focused on going to photograph the effects of the historic snow melt runoff that I completed forgot that the dogwoods would still be in bloom. On the bright side, it was quite a wonderful surprise to get to the Valley and be reminded!

This was, as I have previously written, a quick one-day up-and-back trip. Since I had a four-hour drive ahead of me at the end of the day, I finished up in the Valley right around sunset, and this grove of dogwood trees was my final stop of the day. I have photographed here before, and I’m especially fond of one of the big conifers hiding behind the leafy dogwoods.

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

Forest and Tower, Afternoon

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Forest and Tower, Afternoon
Gentle afternoon haze and soft spring light on forest and granite towers, Yosemite Valley.

Forest and Tower, Afternoon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Gentle afternoon haze and soft spring light on forest and granite towers, Yosemite Valley.

The main visual aspect of Yosemite Valley, I think, is of massive, iconic formations in combinations that would be almost impossible to imagine: a dome sliced in half, waterfalls launching from the edges of cliffs thousands of feet above the valley, incomprehensibly massive expanses of granite, the u-shaped form with a carpet of trees at the bottom. But more subtle things characterize the place, too: the back-lit afternoon haze, cloud shadows moving ac ross the landscape, trees and meadows next to the river, and more.

The location is a bit west of the most popular parts of the Valley, wheres a beautiful small meadow provides more open views of the surroundings. The meadow that can be more of a lake in the snow melt season when the nearby Merced river rises. This spot was almost the final stop on my recent one-day visit to the Valley, and there I found multiple subjects to photograph.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Snow-capped Panamint Mountains

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Snow-capped Panamint Mountains
Fresh snow forms patterns on the sparse forest along the crest of the Panamint Mountains.

Snow-capped Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Fresh snow forms patterns on the sparse forest along the crest of the Panamint Mountains.

After all these years of seeing snow on desert peaks, it still catches my attention when wintry weather comes to this landscape. At first it seems strange, but then I remember that desert temperature swings are huge and snow is actually common at higher elevations. This very recent snowfall had not really begun to melt yet — and the white snow set off the shapes of the juniper trees and ridges criss-crossing the slopes of this summit.

Most often when I’ve photographed this area late in the day the temperatures have been comfortable or even warm. But on this late-March evening it was distinctly cold, with wind blowing and the snow nearby. We bundled up and photographed for an hour or so as the day came to and end.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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: Northern California

Valley, Spring

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Valley, Spring
A California valley during the “impossibly green” season.

Valley, Spring. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A California valley during the “impossibly green” season.

To be perfectly honest, this is a bit of a “record shot” — a photograph made at least as much to record something as to have an aesthetic effect. The location is a park not far from where I live, a place where I have hiked and photographed for several decades. It is part of my “outdoors backyard,” a place where I almost feel a sense of ownership now. I’ve even made other photographs from almost this precise location, though in rather different (and more dramatic) conditions.

The photograph is also a record of a California phenomenon, what some have called the ‘impossibly green season” — that amazing annual eruption of grasses and other plants in a typically dry landscape. At a time when much of the country is deep in winter, many places in California turn more green than you can imagine.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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