Tag Archives: grove

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

Conway Summit Aspens in Rain

October 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 7 Comments

Fall rain and mist mute the colors of the extensive aspen groves above Conway Summit on Highway 395 in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Just back from the eastern Sierra an hour or so earlier, and I want to get something posted before going to bed – so here is more or less the last photograph I made today. It rained lightly (and sometimes more heavily) all day, starting when I woke up in Bishop Canyon, continuing as I photographed in that general area until the early afternoon, and then following me north as I headed up to the Lee Vining area. Although I saw a few spots of sun as I drove towards this huge aspen grove near Conway Summit, by the time I arrived it was raining steadily. My plan was to decide here whether to continue my aspen hunt into the evening as I drove further north… or to recognize that the weather was going to be an issue and instead head up Tioga Pass and over the pass to return home.

Since it was raining at Conway Summit, after stopping to make a few exposures (including this one) I headed back to Lee Vining and then up to Tioga Pass. This Conway Summit photograph probably illustrates some important variables of landscape photograph in general and aspen photography specifically. Based on visits to this area in previous years, I was expecting less color than I found – while a lot of trees were still green, the higher trees had turned their most intense colors, and sections of the lower groves also were quite colorful. Despite the planning that gets me to places like this at the right time of day and at about the right time of the year, some things cannot be controlled – in this case, it was the weather. Also, even though I came here with a fairly specific shooting plan, once I arrived the conditions were tough enough that I had to work quickly. Fortunately I know this place pretty well, so I was able to find the scene I wanted to shoot without a lot of searching and I was then able to capture a few frames quickly… and get back into the car and out of the rain!

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

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

Boulders, Trees, and Cliff – Upper Young Lake

September 29, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early evening light on boulders, trees, and cliffs along the edge of Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

Seeing that this feels like about the 100th photograph in this series from Upper Young Lake, I’m half tempted to title it “Yet Another Upper Young Lake Photograph.” I won’t, but I will keep the commentary short on this one. Shot on the same mid-September evening along the shore near the lower end of the lake, I used a longer focal length for this one and composed it to include a slightly darker and steeper section of the cliffs that rise from one side of the lake.

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

keywords: boulder, rock, tree, grove, cliff, face, crack, meadow, grass, brush, shore, shoreline, upp

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

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

September 28, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on granite slopes and the shoreline of Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

In a way this is sort of a “test shot,” since I haven’t really focused on this portion of Upper Young on previous visits. I want to return and “work” this section of the lake, along with the area between it and the middle lake, and also the upper end of this lake, which I’ve barely visited. I made this photograph during that wonderful late time in the day when the light changes from moment to moment, the colors gradually become more and more interesting, and the slight backlight partially obscures the details of the background slopes.

This particular terrain is perhaps as close as any to what I regard as “my ideal Sierra” – that magical zone just below or at timberline where there are meadows, either open or intimate and separated by rocks and trees, and the light is everywhere, uninterrupted by trees. There are enough plants to give this sort of area an almost lush appearance, especially early in the season and when the light is right. And while I like the higher and truly alpine regions of the passes and peaks, I’d rather hang out in areas like this one where there is a certain amount of greenery and the high elevation harshness is moderated a bit.

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

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

Upper Young Lake, Peninsula with Trees

September 21, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunset light illuminates trees on a rocky peninsula, reflected in the surface of alpine Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is one more and perhaps the last in the sequence of photographs made on a mid-September evening at Upper Young Lake. I mentioned in a previous post that I had walked up here from my campsite to photograph in the beautiful evening light, and after wandering about and making a few other photographs I finally decided to focus my efforts on this scene featuring tree-covered rocks at the end of a small, curving peninsula. I began shooting just as the “golden hour” time began, and continued until the light was quite dim… and I had to start heading back down what passes for a trail to my camp at a lower lake. This photograph was made at a point at which the light had really begun to warm up as the sun dropped toward the horizon, but before the very last (and very red) light.

A comment on why I have posted several photographs (four by now?) of more or less this same scene rather than selecting “the best” one… I’ve previously written about my reasons for posting daily photographs at the blog, which include practice and encouraging me to regularly take photographs all the way through at least an initial post-processing workflow. The latter gives me a better opportunity to get to know the different images, both as I work on them and I I consider them after posting. So, frankly, I don’t necessarily have a clear favorite at this point.

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

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