Tag Archives: granite

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest, Meadow, New Snow

March 18, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Granite, Snow, And Clouds — Overnight snow coats forest trees, Yosemite National Park

Clouds sweep across granite faces as winter snow falls above Yosemite Valley

This morning followed a light overnight snowfall in Yosemite Valley, and the temperature was cold enough that the snow did not melt. The thin coating of snow remained on the trees, even as the first sun arrived, peaking over the top of the cliffs along the south side of the Valley.

In the foreground are trees growing on the Valley floor, near the edge of a large, open meadow, including both conifers and deciduous trees. The further up the Valley walls we look the more snow remains, and backlit trees with snowy branches wind their way upwards toward granite cliffs. Further in the distance those cliffs appear, snow dusted and blue in the cold shadow light.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Cliffs, New Snow

March 10, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cloud-filtered light passes over granite cliffs dusted by snow

This photograph came as a bit of a surprise. It had been cold and cloudy, and much of the light was rather flat underneath overcast. I had photographed through the afternoon, often finding moments of fine light, but as the day wound toward sunset the clouds thickened and obscured much of the earlier light. Running out of ideas — except for some that I was holding for a bit later — I ended up at an accessible location and, much to my surprise, some like appeared. Moments earlier this bit of cliff face had been entirely in shadow, but then a break in the clouds moved past and illuminated it.

There is a notion that landscape photography is always a slow and contemplative exercise. It certainly can be that, and I know I do spend a fair amount of time walking slowly, looking, thinking, and not necessarily making photographs until I find something — or it finds me. But as much as the landscape doesn’t move, the light and atmosphere often change quite quickly, and photographing it can be an exercise in timing. The timing takes the form of being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, something that you cannot control even though you can increase the odds, and then the timing of making photographs at the moments when light does its most interesting stuff. At these times if you turn away for a few seconds you may miss something entirely.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Light, After Snow

March 9, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light snow on forest trees and granite faces, following winter snow

On most days I’m convinced that there is no season more beautiful in Yosemite Valley than winter, and no day in the Valley more beautiful than one following snowfall, when the sun comes out again, snow blankets the trees, and a bit of remaining mist floats among the spires. (OK, on an autumn day I may give more credit to fall colors, and on a spring day I may acknowledge new growth and wildflowers. But still.)

I was fortunate that it snowed on several days during my recent artist-in-residence stint in the Valley. (Thank you, Yosemite Renaissance.) It did not snow a lot, but it was unusually cold and snow fell all the way to the valley floor, with an accumulation in some spots of a few inches. Because it was so cold the snow did not immediately melt (as it often does at this elevation) or fall from the trees. In this photograph, across the open space of a meadow, you can still see snow in the trees, and it gets thicker as the trees ascend the south side of the Valley.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tree And Boulder

March 5, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A curving tree and a large boulder along a Yosemite Valley trail

One of the pluses about having a full week in Yosemite (during my recent Yosemite Renaissance artist residency was that I had more time to slowly explore places I might have otherwise missed during a visit with a more compressed timeline. On a short visit it is easy to feel the pressure to make the very best use of limited time and head straight for (what one hopes will be!) “sure bets.” With more time available that pressure is gone, and there is more time to slow down and give in to the rhythms of the place. On this afternoon I took a slow, relaxed walk along a familiar but less-used trail along the base of granite cliffs. On this winter day I hardly saw anyone else there.

A few other things come to mind as I look at this photograph. One surprise is how much this relatively dry and rock place suggests an almost jungle-like mood! I can assure you that it is not such a place, but right here the terrain and forest is a bit thick and complex. Secondly, it is probably obvious that relationships between shapes play a big role in this photograph. The boulder by itself might not be that remarkable, especially in a landscape littered with such boulders. But located beneath the curving tree, whose form echoes that of the boulder, it becomes more of a focal point.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: granite

Forest, Meadow, New Snow

Morning Light, After Snow

Tree And Boulder

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