Tag Archives: glacier

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

An Alpine Bowl

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An Alpine Bowl
Rock-filled meadows rise past the tree line towards the rugged terrain of the alpine zone, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

An Alpine Bowl. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Rock-filled meadows rise past the tree line towards the rugged terrain of the alpine zone, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This particular corner of the Sierra Nevada backcountry landscape became a bit of an obsession for me during out August backcountry photography foray. We camped nearby for a week, and every day we went out to explore and photograph portions of the surrounding alpine landscape. Our base camp was not far below the high country of open meadows and talus, which is my favorite kind of Sierra landscape.

With that in mind, it should probably be no surprise that I walked up into the area in this photograph several times. Access was quite close — a few hundred yards above our camp, after crossing a creek, I was in the lower reaches of the sub-alpine meadow, and from there it was a pleasant amble across the meadows, occasionally through some trees, and on up to the treelike and beyond. High in this bowl I found what I expected — a shallow lake replenished by snowmelt water coming down from high above.

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: Sierra Nevada

Forest and Meadow, Morning Light

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Forest and Meadow, Morning Light
The first morning light on a subalpine forest and meadow below rugged High Sierra peaks.

Forest and Meadow, Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The first morning light on a subalpine forest and meadow below rugged High Sierra peaks.

Earlier this week we returned from an extended backcountry visit with friends and fellow photographers. Our goal was to explore and photograph the area around our basecamp… and to spend quality time hanging out during the times of day when the light was less compelling. (Our goal was not to experience the worst Sierra thunderstorm I’ve ever seen, but I digress…) We stayed near a subalpine lake, and from there we wandered off to higher places every day, in search of scenery and light.

Not far above our camp the terrain opened up into glacial bowls that gradually rose above timberline — my favorite sort of Sierra country! On several mornings I followed one of these up a succession of meadows and forested knolls toward the high peaks beyond. I made this photograph just as the first morning light glanced across a rise with larger trees while the more distant slopes remained in shadow.

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: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Glacial Valley

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Glacial Valley
A Mount Shuksan glacier lies in a rocky valley under drifting mists

Glacial Valley. Mount Shuksan, Washington. September 10, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Mount Shuksan glacier lies in a rocky valley under drifting mists

Recently I shared a photograph of the Wheeler Glacier and Cirque located beneath Wheeler Peak in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. (Yes, I also was unaware that there is a glacier in Nevada…) As I worked on that photograph I had this photograph of a glacier open on my computer. (I don’t know its name — possibly Lower Curtis Glacier?) It struck me just how similar the general features of these widely separated glacier are. Each now consists of an ice field nestled in the bottom of a cirque. Both are surrounded by impressively steep head walls. Both have trees growing very close to the terminus.

I photographed this using a long lens while I was at the Artist Point area at the end of the road to the Mount Baker Ski Area. I had a free day while visiting Seattle, so I did the long up-and-back drive, leaving enough time to photograph in the afternoon. The light may have been less than idea, it being a bit too close to midday, but at times thin clouds muted the sunlight enough to allow light to fill in the shadow details a bit. In addition, some interesting clouds were drifting around the summit of Mt. Shuksan and the occasionally reached further down the peak as in this 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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Nevada

Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall

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Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall
Wheeler glacier and the cirque headwall below Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

Wheeler Glacier and Cirque Headwall. Great Basin National Park, Nevada. September 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wheeler Glacier and the cirque headwall below Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park

On my recent first-time visit to Nevada’s Great Basin National Park I experienced the challenges and rewards of photographing a brand new (to me!) location. As I have previously noted, I usually avoid doing too much research about a new destination ahead of time, at least beyond what is necessary to successfully get there and back and locate places to stay and eat, along with the most basic known features of the place. (For anyone who hasn’t heard the message already, I’m trying to retain the potential for discovery in new places and to make it more likely that I will form my own orientation to them.) So, what I actually knew about this park in advance of my visit was somewhat limited: it is formed around the Snake Mountains, it is famous for its caves, Wheeler Peak is the second highest point in Nevada, there might be fall color at this time of year, that much of the park is not easily accessible… and there is a glacier!

From this and a few of my other photographs of the high areas of the park you might get the impression that it is largely and alpine place. It isn’t. In fact, the spots that do have that feeling are a small portion of the park and at least partially notable for being exceptions. Yet, once you arrive at such places they become your entire world. (Well, almost your entire world, since views of the surrounding “basin” terrain are rarely far away.) This glacial cirque cuts into the highest ridge, separating the two tallest summits in the park. The view straight into this glacial valley is, indeed, impressively alpine. (As I write this I have a photograph of a Pacific Northwest glacier scene from Mount Shuksan open on my computer, and it shares remarkable parallels with this photograph.) On this visit the effect was enhances by a recent dusting of early autumn snowfall that coats the mountains and the top of the huge rock glacier at the lower edge of the much smaller ice glacier.

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.