Tag Archives: high

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Wild Horses

Image February 2, 2019 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A herd of feral horses in high desert hill country east of the Sierra Nevada.

Those of us whose orientation to the Sierra Nevada and points east comes mainly from visits as outsiders can overlook aspects of the culture and history of the area that we weren’t looking for. As someone who came to these mountains, starting many decades ago, as a camper and backpacker (and, at times skier, climber, and photographer) my orientation held that the range was mainly a place about wilderness. It is that, in many ways, but that’s not all it is. Over time I learned and accepted that there are other threads: prospecting and mining, fishing (I tried, but little luck!), ranching, and more.

This herd of feral horses is probably a remnant of some of those “other” threads. Over decades a number of horses managed to get free, and they also managed to survive rather well in some of the areas east of the Sierra. (I first saw them decades ago way out in Nevada.) I ran into this herd on an exploration into less-visited areas roughly east of Yosemite a few years back. I had rumors, but wasn’t necessarily expecting to see them — but was thrilled when I came over a low saddle and spotted them up ahead. (It might seem surprising to some that I’ve put this photograph in the “wildlife” category, but these horses are no longer domesticated critters.)

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Snow Field, Reflection

Image November 7, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A late-season snow field at the base of rugged cliffs, reflected in the surface of a High Sierra lake

I can say a few things concerning both the objective facts about this scene and about my subjective reaction to it. The facts: We walked to this lake frequently during our September photographic sojourn in the Eastern Sierra backcountry. It wasn’t far from our base camp at another nearby lake, and if we walked directly there it might take all of 10-15 minutes — though, as photographers, our walks are hardly ever direct, more often devolving into stop-and-go affairs as we are distracted by various subjects. The snow bank and the steep wall above the lake were most often in shadow, and by evening the light could become quite dim.

There are many ways I could (and perhaps did) photograph this subject, but here I wanted to focus on the contrast between the form of the bright snow field and the much darker surroundings of cliffs, talus, and shadowed lake. Late in the day a long shadow began along the talus field and gradually advanced across the lake, darkening the water and the surrounding forest and rocks. After sunset, my impression of the place was of stillness and oncoming darkness, and I wanted this version of the photograph to suggest these things.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Rock-Filled Tarn

July 20, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tarn on Chagoopa Plateau

This photograph is a decade old, though it has sat in my raw file archive for that entire period. As we hiked through this area on a trans-Sierra pack trip via the High Sierra trail we crossed the edge of this remarkable seasonable lake, nearly filled with a pavement of broken rocks. The location is fairly remote — essentially more or less half way between the west-side sequoia groves and Mount Whitney on the east side.

When I originally looked at this file after the trip, something appealed to me about it but I could never quite figure out how to post-process it. (I won’t go into details here, but I was using an older version of digital photography technology, and the light was a bit unusual in this location.) I never did come up with a color rendition of the scene that pleased me. Finally, a decade later, it dawned on me that it might work as a monochrome image, both because of the strong shapes of the foreground rocks and because black and white permits more modification and control during the post-processing (what used to be called the darkroom) phase.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Stream Crossing, High Sierra Trail

July 13, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The High Sierra Trail fords a small stream, Sequoia National Park

The things that stick in one’s mind on Sierra pack trips are sometimes inexplicable. This trip, a nine-day adventure crossing the Sierra Nevada on the High Sierra trail, took us over some spectacular terrain and to remarkable places, including the summit of Mount Whitney at the end of the trip. Yet, for some reason, I stopped to photograph this little section of trail, and I specifically remember doing so.

Perhaps the water crossing the trail caught my attention, though that is not exactly an uncommon thing in this range. Maybe it was the very green foliage growing next to the water. That is somewhat special in a mountain range that is mostly fairly dry, and in a location that was between one dry valley and a dry ridge. The view up the trail interests me, too — you can’t really see what lies beyond those trees but you can see the light there.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: high

Snow Field, Reflection

Rock-Filled Tarn

Stream Crossing, High Sierra Trail

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