Tag Archives: grove

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Autumn Leaves, Muir Woods

January 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Colorful late autumn leaves in the redwood forest of Muir Woods National Monument, California.

These leaves represent more or less the last gasp of autumn color at Muir Woods – the photograph was taken just a few days before the winter solstice. Although I’ve visited Muir Woods a number of times of a period of many years, during this past year I have done quite a bit of photography there, and with this series of photographs I feel like I’ve gone through a full season with the park. As I wandered through the main groves twice during the last half of December I really had a strong feeling of concluding a year of growth in the forest… and of shooting this subject. It was fitting that on this visit I saw for the first time one of the first flowers to come up as a new cycle begins, the fetid adders’ tongue and its subtle but beautiful flower. This got me thinking about and looking forward to the cycle of renewal that will soon begin again in this park.

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: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, three, leaves, fall, autumn, color, green yellow, redwood, forest, grove, tree, plant, nature, foliage, branch, muir, woods, monument, marin, county, stock

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

Late Season Subalpine Meadow and Creek

December 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A dry creekbed meanders through a boulder-filled golden late-season Sierra Nevada meadow at sunset near Evelyn Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is another view of the “backyard” of my solo-backpacking camp site near Evelyn Lake back in early September of this year. Dusk has fallen across the meadow and the twisting creekbed leading to the lake, but a bit of alpenglow lingers on the clouds beyond the tree-lined ridge.

This photograph is evidence of the early onset of “fall” in the high country. Although the equinox was still nearly two weeks away, the plants here had lost their summer appearance – the meadow was almost entirely brown or golden and the small creek, which would contribute to the flooding of this lakeside meadow earlier in the season had already stopped flowing.

(By starting my “fall” season in late summer in the high country I can manage to experience fall colors for at least three months every year!. I often see the first hints of the change in the highest country even earlier than the date of this photograph. Then by late September and early October the Sierra aspen color show is in full swing. By the end of the month I can find great colors at lower elevations on the west side of the range, such as in Yosemite Valley. After that the colors continue to develop through November in the coastal areas of central and northern California, and here in the SF Bay Area there are still a lot of fall colors to be seen.)

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.

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

Autumn Oak Trees, Cliff Face – Yosemite Valley

November 28, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn oak trees and meadow with background cliff face towering above – Yosemite Valley, California.

Having posted all of the better photos from last week’s shoot at Point Lobos, I’m back to the fall photographs from Yosemite Valley once again as I complete the process of going through all of the images I brought back from my October 31 and November 1 visit. This is another in the “tree with hazy cliffs in the background” series that I seem to have spent a lot of time on during this visit. These trees were photographed during the bright midday hours, at a time when I might usually knock off from photography for awhile. However, with the right backlight on the colorful black oaks and a background of hazily distance valley walls, I continued to shoot almost straight through on this day.

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.

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

Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge

November 21, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A grove of autumn cottonwood trees in the last sun as late afternoon shadows fall across the floor of Yosemite Valley near Yosemite Falls.

Late in the afternoon on Halloween this year I was in Leidig Meadow in Yosemite Valley watching the light dim along the cliff faces near Yosemite Falls. As the shadow moved across the Valley toward the meadow it lit this row of cottonwood trees growing between the meadow and the banks of the Merced River.

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.

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