Tag Archives: grove

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

False Solomon’s Seal, Rain

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False Solomon's Seal After Rain

False Solomon’s Seal, Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ground growing False Solomon’s Seal plants and flowers after morning rain – along Highway 120 in Yosemite National Park, California.

As I entered Yosemite on Highway 120 during the first weekend of June I stopped at one of my favorite dogwood groves along this road. The diffused light from overcast and the intense colors from early morning rain created striking colors in this grove – and I was surprised to find that there were still many dogwood blooms. While wandering around looking for just the right blossoms I happened to look down and notice a lot of lush new undergrowth including this little patch of false solomon’s seal.

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: false, solomons seal, Smilacina racemosa, highway, 120, rain, shower, wet, drop, reflection, flower, leaf, foliage, wildflower, flower, ground, hugging, forest, grove, nature, travel, scenic, green, water, spring, yosemite, national park, california, usa, north, entrance, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest After Morning Rain

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Forest After Morning Rain

Forest After Morning Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft overcast light illuminates tall trees covered with moss following early morning rain in Yosemite Nataional Park, California.

I’ve had my eye on this little spot in the forest alongside the highway 120 route north entrance to the park – it is in the high section between the turn-off to Tuolumne Meadows and the beginning of the steeper descent toward the Valley through open terrain. I have a particular set of conditions in mind for the photograph I would eventually like to make at this location, and although those were not the conditions I found on this morning I stopped and made a few photographers here nonetheless.

The weather in early June of this year has been a bit unusual – at the time when thing usually shift over to the expected California weather pattern of long periods of clear blue skies and warm temperatures, instead we have had weeks of cloudy, cool, and often wet weather. (All in all, the latter tends to make for more interesting photography than the former!) As I drove into the park early on this morning the forest was still wet from the previous day’s rain and the overcast was already rebuilding towards another day of rain, and this made for intense and saturated forest color (especially the reddish-browns and greens of the moss and leaves) and wonderful diffused light.

As Yosemite subjects go, this one falls considerably short of “icon” status – but it is the sort of thing about the park that grows on me more and more.

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: forest, tree, trunk, moss, green, branch, bark, texture, vertical, litter, plant, leaf, rock, morning, overcast, light, grove, soft, filtered, light, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, spring, rain, cloudy, wet, yosemite, national park, california, north, highway, 120, dense, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove

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Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Burned forest near the Mariposa redwood grove in Yosemite National Park, California.

During my recent visit to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias in southern Yosemite National Park I hiked up the main trail through the grove. While the forest and occasional redwood tree to my left were certainly interesting, my attention was drawn to the burned area to the right. The trail in places followed the very edge of fairly recent wildfire, and in some spots crossed it.

I am fascinated with forest fire areas and how we perceive them. As a kid I remember learning from Smokey the Bear that forest fires are a tragic thing. But later I became less certain, and I came to view the wild fires as a natural and periodic element of a healthy forest. Aside from the human tragedies can accompany wildfires, I began to change my perspective on the aesthetic value of these burned areas, and I learned to see a certain stark beauty in them. A recently burned forest like this one is not necessarily an ugly thing if you look at it this way. The open light, verticals of black and gray, the intense brown of singed leaves and needles, the contrast with the reddish-brown of the forest floor, and the appearance of scattered new growth all create a special landscape. And a few years later as the cycle starts again and wildflowers and bushes grow wildly there can be a riot of color below the skeletons of the old 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: forest, tree, burn, char, scar, fire, wild fire, aftermath, brown, bare, growth, green, gray, black, mariposa, redwood, sequoia, grove, landscape, nature, travel, ecology, environment, fallen, california, usa, yosemite, national park, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

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Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A mother black bear and her two cubs practice their tree-climbing skills in Yosemite National Park, California.

I confess that I participated in a full-scale “Yosemite tourist experience” in order to get this photograph. Despite the fact that I’ve encountered California black bears many times in the high country while car camping and while backpacking – and I respect but do not fear these bears – this photograph was made during a less wild experience. I was driving back down Tioga Pass Road from Tuolumne and as I approached the right turn to pick up the main road out of the park I suddenly came upon many cars parked at odd angles along the road. I slowed, rolled my window down, and asked, “Hey, what is everyone stopped for?” The breathless reply was “a mother bear and her cubs are in the trees!”

Not having any decent bear photographs in my collection I decided to stop and see what I could get. I found a spot to park off the roadway, grabbed a camera and the longest lens, and walked back up the road to where others were staring intently across a small clearing toward trees far beyond – but I couldn’t spot a darn thing. Finally someone pointed out where the mother bear had last been seen, and I thought I spotted her head – in very poor light and crouched down low in the brush. I flipped on the image-stabilization on my 100-400mm lens, increased camera ISO to 400 (wanting to minimize blur when I hand held the camera) and got “mama” framed up. She was not a very photogenic subject, prone on the forest floor beyond some plants – but I was patient. Before long she began to move, walking among the trees, and soon her two small cubs appeared. I thought they might just be within range of the lens I had so I began to track their movements with my camera and shoot photos whenever something interesting happened. (Basically, I like to photograph wildlife – at least mammals – in much the same way that I might photograph people: I want the critter to look in a direction such that I can see its face, and if the animal is actively engaged in doing something, all the better.)

It seemed to me that “mom” was perhaps showing the cubs how to climb trees. She would edge them over to a tree and then they would start to climb. Before long both of the small cubs were scampering many feet up into the trees, and mom followed at least partway.

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: black, bear, mother, sow, cubs, climb, tree, trunk, moss, ascent, forest, grove, wildlife, animal., nature, yosemite, national park, california, usa, travel, adventure, tioga, road, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, stock