Tag Archives: grass

Aspen Grove, Morning, Lee Vining Canyon

Aspen Grove, Morning, Lee Vining Canyon

Aspen Grove, Morning, Lee Vining Canyon. Sierra Nevada, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning backlight filters through the green leaves of spring aspen trees to fall on meadow grasses in Lee Vining Canyou, California.

My posting sequence has been a bit confusing lately, I’ll have to admit – I’ve gone back and forth among photographs from Seattle, the eastern Sierra, Yosemite Valley, and more. Now I’m going back to the early June Yosemite photographs to post a few that I did not get to right away. This is one in that group. This is another part of the same small aspen grove in Lee Vining that I photographed in early June when the new meadow grasses were just coming up and the trees still retained some of the new growth color. I had stopped to photograph this grove in shadowed light, looking for the soft diffused effect that this creates. I had just about finished shooting this grove when the sun began to rise above the canyon walls and the first direct light filtered among the trees.

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

keywords: early, morning, light, beam, aspen, tree, grove, forest, trunk, branch, leaf, green, grass, plant, nature, lee vining, canyon, national forest, season, spring, new, california, usa, nature, landscape, rock, boulder, shadow, filter, meadow, stock

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red-orange chairs on a terraced lawn above Richard Serra’s Wake with downtown Seattle buildings beyond, Olympic Sculpture Park.

This is another quick photograph from my half-hour visit to the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle last weekend. I’m fascinated by the large sculpture at the lower end of the terrace (“Wake” by Richard Serra) and I have photographed it before. This time I thought that the juxtaposition of the red-orange chairs (positioned more or less at random by other visitors, I presume), the very green grass, the slightly overhead view of the sculpture, and the cylindrical building beyond was interesting. There is a lot more detail in this photograph than is apparent in the small jpg – obviously the grass detail is not really visible here, and there are some people standing along the green area at the upper left side of the frame. I also thought about positioning the chairs slightly off center to the right, the sculpture slightly off center to the left, and the massive building dead center over all the other elements.

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

keywords: olympic, sculpture, park, seattle, art, museum, sam, red, orange, green, chairs, lawn, terrace, concrete, cement, sand, trees, plants, garden, wall, grove, wake, richard serra, metal, rust, sky, cloud, blue, cylinder, round, building, downtown, urban, washington, usa, travel, apartment, grass, stock

Aspen Grove, Lee Vining Canyon, Spring

Aspen Grove, Lee Vining Canyon, Spring

Aspen Grove, Lee Vining Canyon, Spring. Near Lee Vining, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An aspen grove and grassy meadow in Lee Vining Canyon come to life in late spring.

I often visit this little aspen grove in Lee Vining Canyon when I head to the “east side” to photograph Sierra Nevada fall colors in early October. On this trip in early June I camped at nearby Aspen campground and rose very early to photograph dawn light at the South Tufa area of Mono Lake, after which I headed back into Lee Vining to grab a coffee at Latte Da before heading back up Lee Vining Canyon to break my camp. Just before the campground as I passed this spot I noticed the there was a diffused glowing light coming from across the canyon and that no direct sun was yet hitting the grove – and just before the sun rose over the canyon walls and lit up the scene I managed to make a few photographs of this spring version of the scene.

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

keywords: aspen, tree, grove, forest, leaf, green, trunk, white, brown, grass, sage, spring, season, lee vining, canyon, eastern, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, morning, landscape, nature, foliage, scenic, travel, national, stock

Middle Cathedral and El Capitan Meadow, Spring

Lower Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan Meadow, Spring

Lower Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan Meadow, Spring. Yosemite Valley, California. May 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early spring view of the trees and new grass of El Capitan with the lower face of Middle Cathedral and the Yosemite Valley rim beyond.

El Capitan Meadow is one of my favorite places to photograph in Yosemite – at just about any time of year, at any time of day, and in any conditions. This photograph was made on a beautiful early spring morning as the new spring growth was just beginning to show – the grasses are just coming up in the meadow and the trees are beginning to leaf out. Beyond the meadow is the smooth face of Middle Cathedral facing the morning light, and beyond that is a shaded portion of the south Valley rim.

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

keywords: national park, travel, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, season, spring, new, growth, grass, tree, meadow, el, cap, capitan, silhouette, ,middle, cathedral, rocks, cliff, mountain, face, rock, sun, rim, forest, peak, landscape, scenic, stock