Tag Archives: golden

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening Shadow

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Evening Shadow
“Evening Shadow” — Evening shadows work their way up the face of a Sierra Nevada ridge, John Muir Wilderness.

This is one of the best times of the day in the backcountry — when the shadows lengthen and fall across the landscape, with nightfall inevitably not far behind. On typical evenings, everything slows down as the winds die and it becomes very quiet — a kind of deep quiet never experienced in our city lives. The light turns golden and we stop to watch the colors on peaks, knowing that the day is almost over.

Our group of photographers was camped in a high Sierra basin for a week a few years ago. By this evening we had adapted completely into the rituals and slower time of the backcountry, and as the quiet evening approached we set about slowly looking for a few last photographs.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Evening Shadows

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Aspens and Evening Shadows
“Aspens and Evening Shadows” — Long evening shadows creep across aspen groves in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This photograph comes from one of those evenings when I almost packed up and left too soon. At this location there is beautiful late afternoon back-light on aspen groves in the fall, but then the sun quickly drops behind higher peaks and “turns out the lights.” That had already happened on the trees that were my primary subject, and I thought it was time to leave. But hen I noticed that the long shadows from the peaks were stretching across the trees and the rolling hills of this Eastern Sierra landscape.

It is hard to know when to stick around to see what will happen versus when it is time to move on to a different subject. I wish there was a simple rule to apply to this conundrum, but I’ve never discovered it. Sometimes staying is the right choice, but sometimes I stick around and the light just… goes away. And, of course, sometimes when I move on I do encounter something remarkable that I might have missed. However (you saw this coming, right?) I’ve also driven or walked away to look for a better subject only to be stumped.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Ridge, Evening

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Alpine Ridge, Evening
“Alpine Ridge, Evening” — Golden hour light glances across a shattered, rocky ridge, John Muir Wilderness

There is a common notion that landscape photography is a slow and deliberate activity, that we stand in front of a static landscape and carefully work out the right composition as the landscape awaits. This can happen, but the landscape is often quite dynamic, particularly when it comes to changing light. Beams of light between clouds can move across the scene, sunset light is ephemeral, rain showers can momentarily reveal or obscure features.

I made this photograph near our campsite on a lovely late-summer evening. It was during the last half of our weeklong stay, so we were settling in. As the day ended we were all wandering about looking for photographs. As the sun dropped to the west, deep shadows began to fill the great valley in front of us and then creep up the slopes. A last beam of light fell across the near ridge, and then was gone moments after I photographed it.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Dune Shadow

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Dune Shadow
“Dune Shadow” — A plant stretches out from the shadow of late-day light on sand dunes, Death Valley.

On some of my Death Valley visits I photograph dunes many times — at dawn and at sunset, and especially if there is a dust storm or interesting clouds. But on this trip I really only made one serious foray into the dunes, since other rarer features distracted me — most notably the reemergence of a remnant of prehistoric Lake Manly. But it wouldn’t have seemed like a real Death Valley visit without at least one dune adventure.

I made this photograph late in the day, just before the shadows of the Cottonwood Mountains angled across the valley and” dimmed the lights.” (No matter how many times I photograph there, I am still always surprised by how quickly this happens.) Despite first appearances, things do live in the sand, and here an old plant (barely) grows in the shelter of a small dune. Beyond, more dunes stretch across the valley floor, then a gravel fan rises toward desert mountains.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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