Tag Archives: grass

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflections, Early Morning

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Reflections, Early Morning
A distant ridge in very early morning light is reflected on the surface of an alpine tarn

Reflections, Early Morning. John Muir Wilderness, California. September 1, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A distant ridge in very early morning light is reflected on the surface of an alpine tarn

A photograph is a curious thing. It can “tell” you things about a subject — and about the person who made the photograph — that might not be easily communicated in other ways. On the other hand, a photograph usually leaves it to the viewer to guess at many aspects of the image’s context — and the viewer either brings her/his own context or may simply be unaware. For example, I probably see this scene very differently from others who view the photograph, even those who were there or who know the place. Let me explain.

What is not “visible” in this photograph? It was made near the end of a long stay in this area, where we were camped in forest a few hundred feet lower near a lake. So by this time I knew the spot quite well, and rather than “discovering” it I was essentially revisiting and looking more closely at things I already had seen. I had crawled out of my tent before sunrise, resisting the temptation to stay in the warm sleeping bag “for just a few more minutes,” and instead unzipping the bag, pulling on a down jacket and boots, heading outside and shouldering my gear. It was still not light when I arrived here, and a made a few “warm up” photographs as I wandered around this pond in the damp meadow. To make the photograph I was standing almost as much in the lake as I was next to it. At the time of this photograph the first, warm dawn light had come and gone, though the alignment of the peaks meant that not much direct light fell on the scene. Having visiting this spot for a week now, I was also noticing that the grass on the rise across the small pond was now visibly transitioning from summer green to autumn brown. As I worked a breeze came up, ruffling the surface of the water — and this photograph was made during a brief interval when it quieted enough to reflect the distant peaks. And speaking of those peaks, as I stood here and looked at them I was also aware that in about 48 hours I would be leaving, crossing a 12,000′ pass that is visible at the low point on that ridge. The trip was coming to an end.

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: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Forest, and Dome

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Meadow, Forest, and Dome
Morning light on Lembert Dome and the forest and grasses of Tuolumne Meadow

Meadow, Forest, and Dome. Yosemite National Park, California. August 15, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on Lembert Dome and the forest and grasses of Tuolumne Meadow

The prior day was one of thick wildfire smoke, coming mainly from a fire on the far side of the park near Wawona, but also with contributions from various others fires including some small, managed lightening fires. The effect was not good — the smoke here was as thick as I’ve ever seen it before, including during a late summer visit to Cathedral Lakes a few years back during the height of the drought, when at times it seemed like the entire Sierra was on fire. In any case, the evening before I made this photograph it was still very smokey, and I wondered what the next morning would bring.

As usual, I woke up before sunrise. I was tempted to stay in the warm sleeping bag a while longer, but I summoned the focus to look outside. Noting that I could see blue sky, I got up fairly quickly and left the tent, heading down to the meadow. There was still just a bit of residual smoke hanging around, and there was also a shallow layer of light ground fog. All of this produces some very interesting atmosphere and light as I wandered the meadow, walking between grassy areas and encroaching bits of forest. I paused here, positions myself so that the large trees at the right would block the direct sun, and I made a few photographs including all of the elements of this landscape except the river that passed by out of sight.

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: Southern California

Sunset, Carrizo Plain

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Sunset, Carrizo Plain
A sunset view down toward the edge of the Temblor Hills toward Carrizo Plain, lakes, and distant mountains

Sunset, Carrizo Plain. Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. April 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sunset view down toward the edge of the Temblor Hills toward Carrizo Plain, lakes, and distant mountains

This has been — and likely will continue to be — and exceptional spring for California wildflower color. After an extended and historic drought that lasted roughly five years, the rainy season now coming to an end has been record-setting in the opposite direction. We’ve had floods, washing out highways, remarkable snowfall, and as of this week the state produced an all-time record for seasonal precipitation in portions of the norther Sierra Nevada. The natural world seems to have come back to life again, and in places that have been arid for the past few years we are now seeing lush green spring growth and lots of wildflowers.

Many of us decided to visit some of the interior locations where the seasonal grasslands can produce impressive wildflower blooms. On my way to Death Valley during the first week of April I detoured to join friends who were already in the Carrizo Plains region, and I managed to do one evening and one morning of photography there. On the first evening we found a somewhat remote area in the hills alongside the plain where we could see some large fields of flowers above, and we headed up into the hills to photograph them. From this elevation the views of the Plain opened up, and I made this photograph during the final minutes before sunset.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Hills, Edge of the Carrizo Plain

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Hills,Edge of the Carrizo Plain
Evening light on a stream bed dropping though Temblor Range hills toward the Carrizo Plain

Hills, Edge of the Carrizo Plain. Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. April 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on a stream bed dropping though Temblor Range hills toward the Carrizo Plain

On this early April day I drove south from the San Francisco Bay Area on highway 101, leaving that route and heading east near Paso Robles to travel through the impossibly green spring landscape of Central California hills. I wasn’t alone. This being a beautiful spring Sunday, many others were out here to look for spectacular wildflower displays. And here, as in many other similar California locations, we found what we were looking for.

I continued to the east, eventually arriving at this high plain, often a desolate place but for a few weeks in wet years a place full of growth and color. I met up with friends who were already camped there, and we soon headed out to look for places with special color. We followed a small gravel road up into the foothills of the Temblor Range — we parked where it ended, loaded up packs, and continued on up into the hills of foot, heading toward some extensive fields of colorful wildflowers. As we topped the first rise I paused an looked back down at the base of the hills where the gully of a small stream winds its way toward the plain.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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