Tag Archives: glacial

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

Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point

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Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point - Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park
Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point. Yosemite National Park, California. September 16, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

Among the various landscapes of the high Sierra, this sort of scene most clearly says “Yosemite” to me: the glaciated granite slabs, mostly solid but broken but exfoliating and broken by cracks; the scattered glacial erratic boulders left behind by retreating ice; and the sparse trees somehow managing to not only survive but seemingly prosper while growing on almost solid rock. Although you don’t see precisely these things in the better known Valley, once you get up into the high country of the park you’ll see these features almost everywhere, and especially in the zone from, say, 8000′ of elevation or so and on up.

This photograph was made close to Olmsted Point. While Olmsted is probably better known for its “backside” view of Half Dome and its huge views up toward Tenaya Lake and on to the Sierra crest at Mount Conness, the immediate surroundings are full of this typical Sierra terrain that I described above. Most of the terrain above, below, and around the Point shows evidence of this glacial action, and by taking a few steps away from the parking lot in almost any direction (but do avoid cliffs!) you can find enough examples of this landscape to keep yourself occupied for a long time.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

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

Trees and Granite, Morning Light

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Trees and Granite, Morning Light - First morning light on trees and granite slabs near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park.
First morning light on trees and granite slabs near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park.

Trees and Granite, Morning Light. Yosemite National Park, California. August 12, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light on trees and granite slabs near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park.

I made this photograph a year ago, almost exactly, in August of 2011, while on a trip of several days devoted to photographing the High Sierra, mostly in the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite. A year later I do not remember all of the details of this morning, though I recall that I had gone very early to the Olmsted Point area to photograph the glacial erratic boulders and some rugged trees growing on the granite slabs found in the area. Perhaps this was among the first photographs I made, before heading off to shoot my primary subject, since the series it comes from includes the very first light to strike these trees, while its angle was still small enough to hit the trees but not the rock.

When I came upon this photograph in the old raw file archive this week, one thing that struck me is the fact that it does include a Yosemite icon (seen from an iconic angle that is often photographed), yet that icon is almost an afterthought and most certainly not the primary subject of the photograph. I posted something here yesterday about photographing icons (“Photographing Icons or Not”), and one of the ideas that you might take away from that post is that it is possible to see iconic sights in ways that do not necessarily repeat the familiar iconic views. (Not to fear, I have the iconic view of this subject, too.) I’m willing to bet that I was thinking a whole lot more about the warm first light on the foreground trees, the way it contrasted with the cooler blue tones of the deep canyon and shadowed ridges beyond, and the texture and shapes of the foreground granite slabs that are so characteristic of this part of the Sierra.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

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

Granite Ridge and Trees, Afternoon Light

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Granite Ridge and Trees, Afternoon Light
Granite Ridge and Trees, Afternoon Light

Granite Ridge and Trees, Afternoon Light. Yosemite National Park, California. September 16, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Afternoon light back-lights a glaciated granite ridge partially covered with trees, Yosemite National Park.

Late in the afternoon – almost more like early evening, actually, the atmosphere at this spot along the Tuolumne River valley in the Yosemite back-country was “complex” – both challenging to shoot and full of interesting and varied potential. You might be able to see in the upper right portion of the image that a good part of the sky was obscured by a thin gray layer of high clouds, and by looking at the very faint a low contrast view of the more distant mountains at the upper left it is clear that the atmosphere was quite hazy, especially when back-lit. Yet, there is sunlight slanting across the expanse of granite and trees on the foreground ridge, and this light picks off some of these trees.

This was the kind of lighting that requires some patience. And fortunately I had gotten myself to a beautiful spot on top of a granite “whaleback” (a low and long dome-like structure) above a small side valley beyond which this ridge was arranged with the more distant ridge in the background. Most of the time the light was what I’ve heard one of my friends simply describe as “blah.” The atmosphere was a bit hazy, most of the light was obscured by the high clouds (and the haze), and even in this quite beautiful spot most of the time nothing much stood out as a photograph.

Such scenes require – and can teach – patience. It helps to find yourself alone on a granite ridge without much else to occupy your time and with no other particular task at hand. It also helps if you have learned that there is nothing at all wrong with sitting quietly in one spot for a couple of hours and simply observing. And, if you have done these things before and have observed these scenes, you know that there is a possibility that even in light and landscape that might seem a bit “blah,” there is the potential for a momentary bit of light to create something worth photographing. This was a perfect afternoon for that sort of shooting.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

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

Glacial Erratics

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Glacial Erratics
Glacial Erratics

Glacial Erratics. Yosemite National Park, California. September 16, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glacial erratics rest on top of a low granite dome in the back-country of Yosemite National Park.

“Erratics” are boulders left behind in the wake of the passage of glaciers, and left behind when the glaciers disappeared. They are found all over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and some of the most striking examples are found in surprising places – like along the top of this granite dome-like ridge in the Yosemite back-country along the Tuolumne River. After spending decades in these mountains I sometimes take these rocks for granted (and for “granite…” ;-), but every so often it hits me just how strange and wonderful it is to find these large boulders sitting in unlikely places.

I made this photograph in the late afternoon as the lowering sun began to cast longer shadows and as earlier clouds began to dissipate above the distant ridges. The Tuolumne River begins it steep descent into the lowlands between my position and the distant ridge covered with granite and trees.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.