Tag Archives: gold

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

November 13, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall color of oak trees in morning light at El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, California.

It hardly looks like Halloween, but that’s when I made this photograph. I spent two days in the Valley over the October 31-November 1 weekend this fall – as I do every year – with the goal of photographing autumn conditions. I’ve photographed and described this spot so many times already that I’ll keep the description shot this time, but these black oaks grow in El Capitan Meadow at the base of the famous granite cliff and they catch beautiful light this time of year throughout the day.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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

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

Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road

November 10, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall colors come to plants growing in cracks in a rock face alongside Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I drove across the Sierra via Tioga Pass Road in late September I was watching for early fall color, which often just gets going at about this time. Most of the good color is east of the crest, but there is one area near where the road crosses Yosemite Creek where I sometimes spot some yellow leaves – and, sure enough, as I passed this spot I saw some interesting color along the rock walls beside the road.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: yellow, green, gold, leaf, plant, branch, bush, tree, aspen, rock, face, cliff, crack, gray, boulder, broken, angle, season, fall, autumn, texture, tioga, pass, road, 120, highway, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, trans, creek, nature, travel, scenic, needle, stock

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

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

November 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall color in a meadow near Yosemite Falls – Yosemite Valley, California.

I decided to push the boundaries of “ideal shooting time” on this one – it was made less than an hour before noon in midday light that might often have me starting to take my midday break. I think two things made it possible to shoot this subject in this somewhat difficult light. First, the light coming through the leaves of these black oaks (and to some extent the cottonwoods in the distance) creates an effect that it not typical of midday shooting. Secondly, the deeply shaded cliff walls along the south side of The Valley gave me a background that was not harshly lit. (The bright grasses in the meadow were a bit tough, but I think they are under control here.)

It might surprise some to find out that this landscape image was made using a relatively long lens – a 70-200mm zoom at about 130mm. Here it helped me control the composition – making the trees seem a bit closer to one another and affecting the area of the cliff seen beyond.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, color, yellow, gold, green, orange, brown, golden, meadow, grass, black, oak, pine, cottonwood, tree, grove, forest, cliff, rock, wall, village, falls, foliage, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Three Aspen Trunks, Lichen Covered Rocks

November 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three small aspen trees with fall color leaves among small plants grow from a crack in lichen-covered rocks – Sierra Nevada, California near South Lake.

Yet another variation on the “bare aspen trunks with some leaves, photographed against granite” theme – I can’t help myself! :-)

This is another of several photographs I made along the road below Parcher’s Resort on the way to South Lake in the eastern Sierra above Bishop, California. At this early October point in the season there are almost endless ways to approach photography of aspens – still-green aspens, aspens barely starting to change color, newly colorful aspens among still-green aspens, aspens at the height of their yellow/orange/red color, aspens past peak starting to thin a bit, aspens with only a few beautiful leaves remaining (and the rest littering the ground beneath), aspen trunks bare of any leaves and waiting for the winter to arrive – and all of these shot in an infinite variety of light, in an infinite variety of settings, with an infinite variety of compositions.

So I hope no one minds if I continue to post a few more. :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: three, small, aspen, tree, trunk, leaf, leaves, yellow, green, gold, fall, autumn, season, plant, brush, crack, lichen, gray, green, shrub, twig, branch, boulder, cliff, face, south, lake, parchers, resort, road, bishop, creek, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, california, usa, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, stock

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