Tag Archives: grass

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

Lake Shore, Autumn Morning

December 19, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light strikes grass on the shoreline of a Sierra lake reflecting autumn aspen color

Some photographs have to age for a while before I go back and figure out how to “see” them. This is one of those. I made the photograph a few months ago on a lovely autumn morning high in the Eastern Sierra, at a corner of a well-known location from which people frequently photograph a rather different view. I had begun the morning near this lake, looking for ways to see the landscape in this location in ways that weren’t quite as familiar to me, partly with photographic intent and partly out of not wanting to be part of the assembled crowd!

A bit later, once the expected light show had ended and those who came only for that had departed, I wandered down along the shore of the lake. Where there had been dozens a bit earlier, there were now only two, myself and one other photographer. I’ve been intrigued by these grassy areas along the edge of this lake, but I had not thought to photograph the scene from quite this direction before — and my timing was either perfect or, more likely, lucky in that the first beams of morning light to find their way through surrounding trees were just beginning to strike the patch of grass.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Foothills, Winter Grass

July 26, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter grasses and wildflowers come to life among trees and boulders in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Returning from a few days in Yosemite Valley early this year — we were there for the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibit — we looped somewhat lazily through Sierra foothill terrain on our way home. Since the plan was to arrive at a Central Valley bird refuge before sunset, we had most of the day to poke around and make photographs.

Late winter in California is the greenest time of year. When people visit the state during summer and remark on the golden brown hills, I always want to say, “You should have been here a few months ago!” This is the impossibly green season, when enough rain has fallen to get the grasses to take root and cover these hills, followed quickly by the appearance of wildflowers.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Late Winter, Sierra Foothils

July 6, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Bare trees, new grass, overlapping hills, and late-winter haze in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Back in late February we spent a few days in Yosemite Valley in connection with the opening of the 2016 Yosemite Renaissance show in The Valley. While we were there we also photographed in the Valley, which is always a pleasure in winter, a time of year full of special subjects and conditions.

We left the Valley to head home and had time to take a round about route that would take us past one of our favorite migratory bird locations at sunset, so we wandered a bit in the Sierra foothills around Mariposa. While driving one back road we spotted this landscape of bare trees, brand new grasses, and hills receding into the winter haze.

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

Wildflowers, Rocks, and Grass

July 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Flowers and new grass at the beginning of the “green season” in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Today I went for a hike — not in the Sierra Nevada foothills but in a place where some of the same seasonal cycles are found. The hike took me up to a ridge, where I followed a trail along its crest. It was hot and dry, and the hills were covered by brittle, brown grasses. That’s how summer works in much of California. People who come here from the east or the north are often taken aback by what looks like a dead and dry landscape, and they may not be able to see the beauty in it.

But it isn’t that way all year. In fact, during winter, when many of those green-in-summer places are freezing or buried under snow, much of California erupts into what I call the “impossibly green season.” Believe it or not, this photograph was made in February in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Snow was still falling in the higher mountains, and it would continue to do so for several more months. But here in the low hills along the western edge of the range, winter rains had resurrected the grasslands and caused the wildflowers to bloom

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: grass

Lake Shore, Autumn Morning

Foothills, Winter Grass

Late Winter, Sierra Foothils

Wildflowers, Rocks, and Grass

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