Tag Archives: green

Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy

Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy
“Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy” Tall shoreline trees at Loch Lochy, Scotland.

To this Californian, familiar with rugged Sierra Nevada landscapes and the dry and golden terrain of Western summer, Scotland was a surprising contrast. With the exception of the high, open terrain, much of the country we visited was lush and green and downright bucolic. The closest American analog that comes to mind for me is some of the coastal sections of Washington state or even some areas of southern Alaska.

The Great Glen Way follows a historic system connecting long lakes (or “lochs’) with sections of the Caledonian Canal. This provides a water route between Inverness and Fort William. In this photograph we see Loch Lochy, the first of the three lochs along our northward walk. (The other two are the much smaller Loch Oich and the gigantic Loch Ness.)


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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The Shores of Loch Ness

The Shores of Loch Ness
“The Shores of Loch Ness” — Trees grow next to sheep pastures along the shore of Loch Ness near Drumnadrochit, Scotland.

Perhaps you noticed — Patty and I were traveling from mid-May through early June. We spent three weeks in Scotland, followed by a visit to York and London. The main focus of the trip was to complete the “Great Glen Walk,” a weeklong 80 mile trek from Fort William to Inverness. It was, in almost all ways, quite different from our familiar Sierra Nevada pack trips and hikes — the terrain was almost entirely different, and we stayed in various civilized accommodations each night. So civilized, in fact, that they served us breakfast and packed lunches for us!

I made this photograph of the very green Scottish landscape on the second-to-last day of our walk, which ended in Drumnadrochit, very close to Loch Ness. It was a bit of an odd day. For one thing, we hiked this section “in reverse,” starting well north of town and walking back there. It also took us to one of the highest points on the walk, a wild and windy place above timberline. That aside, much of the hike was through lush and green forests, and here through an area of sheep pastures. Stay tuned: there are many more photographs to come!


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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Fern and Rocks

Fern and Rocks
“Fern and Rocks” — A fern plant grows from cracks in a rock wall, Hakone Gardens.

This is another photograph from our visit to the Hakone Gardens here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We went in the early evening on spring day when the garden was open to celebrate cherry blossom season. The sun was still up when we got there, but during our visit the light transited through sunset to twilight.

The garden is packed with fascinating details, accessible by winding paths that climb and descend the property. later in the evening we climbed to one of the higher points and I stopped to photograph these ferns in fading light.


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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Salt Pond

Salt Pond
“Salt Pond” — A salt pond and surrounding playa terrain near Lake Manly.

Lake Manly is not the only body of water on the Death Valley playa during this unusually wet year. That lake occupies the lowest area near Badwater, but there is a lot of water in other locations up and down the valley. I photographed this pond from Damte’s View, high in the Black Mountains. I was there before dawn, but I made this photograph much later when the early shadows had retreated back across the valley and the playa was in sunshine.

The water and the bright morning light reveal a lot of details on the playa. Not only do we see the pond, but we can see the submerged salt formations around its edge. There are channels and waterways everywhere on the playa, in comes cases separated by slightly higher bits of land where sandstorm dust has collected. At the very lower edge in this photograph we see fans spilling down from the base of the mountains and sending gravel toward the playa’s edge.


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 | PostEmail

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.