Tag Archives: gold

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

Forest and Cliffs, Autumn

November 24, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Soft autumn light on Yosemite Valley forests and granite cliffs.

A typical day of shooting in normal weather in a place like Yosemite Valley starts early – though perhaps not as early as in some other locations, since the first light is somewhat muted by the tall cliffs and taller peaks to the east. I select subjects largely based on what the light is like and where I think it will be interesting, often focusing on places where I can get nice backlight, soft light in shadows, or perhaps atmospheric conditions such as fog. I may move around the Valley, shooting in one spot for a while and then moving on to another place where I suspect that conditions might be interesting. Depending upon the conditions and the season, this can go on for hours in the morning until eventually the light becomes “midday blah” and I’m exhausted and hungry! Time for a (very late) breakfast break and a pause in the photography on most days. After coffee and food I’ll usually take care of some business, for example breaking camp if it my final day there, and I’ll often wander around to visit familiar places – perhaps a gallery or a museum – and then it is probably time for a short nap. (Keep in mind that I’ve been up since well before dawn, and will likely shoot until dark and then possibly drive for four hours or more!)

At some point in the mid to early afternoon it feels like time to photograph some more – the angle of the light becomes less and backlight opportunities increase, afternoon haze may be increasing the sense of depth in the landscape, and I need to begin figuring where I’ll want to be at various times during the evolution of the light that will continue until after sunset. On this afternoon I went back into photography mode at about 2:30 or so, and this photograph was made at the “early” hour of around 3:00. But because it was fall, the sun angle was already low enough to backlight and highlight the cottonwood trees at the edge of the meadow and the textures and shapes of the granite cliffs rising above the Valley.

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

Black Oak, Meadow, Autumn

November 8, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A backlit black oak tree with autumn foliage stands in a meadow below Sentinel Rocks, Yosemite Valley

This black oak, like so many in Yosemite Valley, stands in a large grassy meadow. Although the autumn foliage of these trees may seem less spectacularly colorful than that of the big leaf maples and the cottonwoods, the black oak has a more subtle beauty in the fall. But when lit from behind, early or late in the day when the sun is low, the color of black oak leaves can be surprisingly intense. Off all the fall colors in the Valley, in some ways the combination of that of these oaks and the grasses of the meadows where they are found seems to most strongly speak of fall to me.

This single tree is in a meadow filled with black oaks. I would not be surprised to find that there are 100 of them here. On this afternoon I had gone to the meadow to photograph something different, a group of small cottonwood trees growing near the bank of the Merced River. Finishing that project, I was about to start back toward my car when I noticed that a short-lived beam of direct sun was coming down from an opening in the upper cliff walls and spotlighting this tree. Naturally, I changed my plans, took a little detour, and spent a few minutes with this tree.

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

Autumn Afternoon, Merced River Cottonwood Trees

November 7, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Hazy autumn afternoon light on golden cottonwood trees growing along the banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

As I try to do every fall, I visited Yosemite Valley for a few days right at the end of October so that I could photograph fall color and other seasonal subjects. I typically target my visits for near the end of the last week of the month, since at about this time the cottonwood, big leaf maple, black oak, and dogwood trees can produce beautiful colors and the meadows turn wonderful shades of tan and brown and gold. There are other benefits to visiting at this time of year, too – far fewer people, cooler temperatures, availability of campsites, and I often run into friends and other interesting people in the Valley.

I’m a big fan of backlit trees, and I have shot in this area of meadows and cottonwood trees and river bank many times before. In the afternoon the light begins to come into the valley from the low sun in the west and while trees can be backlit, some of the granite cliffs are already in shadow. If there is a bit of atmospheric haze, I like it even more! On this afternoon I decided to poke around along the banks of the Merced in this area where it flows through a series of bends among meadows and forest – and there were backlit cottonwood trees galore to work with!

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Desert Aspens

November 3, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The golden leaves of a small grove of autumn aspen trees against the rolling hills of high desert sagebrush country

As I have photographed the beautiful autumn color displays of the eastern (and not so eastern) Sierra Nevada aspens, I have thought more about variations on this location theme. There is no question that there are very beautiful aspen trees up high in the eastern Sierra, and I go there every fall to photograph them. There are high elevation stands of interestingly twisted smaller trees, dense stands in lower and sheltered areas, some examples of big stands of tall and straight trees, and more. I have some favorites that I return to every autumn, and I still find new ways to see them and photograph them.

However, I’m also starting to think more about some slightly different opportunities for aspen photography that aren’t all that far from these familiar places and which present the trees in slightly different ways. I’d rather not get too specific at this point, so I’ll just say “think east.” This particular group of trees isn’t all that far east, but it has some of the characteristics that I’m interested in exploring: a narrow band of colorful trees set against a more open and barren essentially high desert landscape. Here the trees seem to tend to grow in (mostly) smaller groups, and in some ways they almost seem more special for being a bit less dense and for growing it what seems like a more difficult environment.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: gold

Forest and Cliffs, Autumn

Black Oak, Meadow, Autumn

Autumn Afternoon, Merced River Cottonwood Trees

High Desert Aspens

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.