Tag Archives: high

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Country Meadow, Evening Light

September 5, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late-day light on a stormy evening high in the John Muir Wilderness

For more than the past week, we occupied a Sierra Nevada backcountry landscape full of surprises and riches — more than enough variety of conditions and subjects to keep us busy. A group of eight of us hiked over a 12,000+’ Sierra crest pass (with assistance from pack train support) and set up a base camp from which we set out each day to explore and photograph the spectacular surroundings. The pleasures of such a trip extend beyond photography — to include contemplation of this landscape, occasionally without a camera, and the joy of sharing the high country with a small circle of like-minded friends. This time it was even more special, as Patricia Mitchell returned to the back-country with me for the first time in many years.

I made this photograph on an evening when late day sunlight filled this subalpine meadow and storm clouds cast shadows over the distant peaks. There was a trail to this meadow, but it was hardly necessary, and once in the meadow we were free to explore all of it and the surrounding domes and peaks — which we did on many mornings and evenings. Those with Sierra Nevada high country experience may be surprised that this photograph was made near the end of August when meadows are typically turning golden brown. Last winter’s extraordinary snowfall delayed the onset of summer conditions, and the meadows were still green and wildflowers were everywhere.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Mountain, Morning

August 15, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dawn light comes to mountain slopes above a reflecting High Sierra backcountry lake

I woke up early on the third and final morning of this pack trip — not early by photographic standards, but just before dawn, nonetheless. The rest of my party — perhaps because they are not photographers — continued to sleep in for another hour or more as I crawled out of my tent, gathered up my (downsized for this trip) camera equipment, and wandered off to see what I could see.

The sun had still not quite risen as I came to the top of a small hill above the lake, but very soon its light began to touch the highest peaks and stream across the shoulder of the large peak towering above the opposite shoreline of the lake. Sometimes the scale of a subject such as this mountain seems more obvious to me when I choose to not include all of it, so I chose to crop tightly enough to not show the peak — or the relatively uninteresting plain blue sky above it. (My theory is that a photograph framed so that the entire subject isn’t visible can sometimes produce an impression that the subject is so large that it cannot be contained within the frame.) As I made this exposure the first light was hitting the rocky face of the upper slopes of the mountain, and that light was reflected in the undisturbed early morning surface of the lake.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Evening Storm Clouds, Mountains

August 3, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening thunderstorm clouds begin to break up above high desert mountains east of the Sierra Nevada at sunset

The Sierra Nevada, being more out of the path of the seasonal monsoonal flows that beset the Southwest, often experiences clear weather — sometimes too clear! Most photographers prefer a more interesting sky, and we can actually be heard complaining about too much nice weather at times. But periodically the atmospheric flows shift northward and westward a bit, and we do see thunderstorm weather in the Sierra. Most of us love this, and we look forward to “interesting skies” when it happens. The clouds often build up over the crest and they can then spread east or sometimes west as the day wears on. Mostly the clouds will clear out late in the day, but sometimes when they drift to the east of the range the electrical show may continue into the evening.

I experienced some of this “interesting weather” on my recent visit to the Sierra around the northeastern portion of Yosemite. It actually turned out to be more interesting than expected, when a forecast of clearing on day two of my trip morphed into a forecast to daily thunderstorm chances. On one afternoon I took a hike up an east side canyon, and on my return I was surprised to find that there was rain falling near the mouth of the canyon. Before long in rained and hailed on me, and these appeared to be the kinds of clouds that might stick around into the evening. I decided to forego dinner, instead finding a high overlook and photographing the cloud show right on through sunset and into the post-sunset blue hour.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

From Tufa To Mountains, Dawn

July 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Predawn light above high desert mountains, reflecting on the surface of Mono Lake

Mono Lake is famed for several things, among them the remarkable tufa towers found in several locations along the shoreline of this great land-locked lake east of the Sierra Nevada. And, yes, this photograph includes a few of those towers — a small group that lies far enough from the shoreline to make them less accessible and interesting to most photographers. (No, that isn’t Nessie — or a band of Nessie lookalikes — at the lower left corner.)

But tufa towers are not my primary or strongest association with this place. Mine include more ephemeral things — the sense of huge space, the expanse of the sky (accentuated by the distance and smallness of surrounding mountains), the deep quiet that is broken only by the sounds of birds and wind. In my experience, to understand those things about this place you must find a quiet place away from other people and perhaps just “be” there quietly, long enough to let its stillness begin to affect you, too. On this morning I arrived in Mono Basin before dawn, ending up at a spot that is not typically regarded as being iconic. Being early, I was in no hurry, so I set up my camera and tripod and just looked for a while before beginning to make photographs of the predawn light from beyond the eastern mountains as it reflected on the breeze-ruffled surface of the lake.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: high

High Country Meadow, Evening Light

Lake and Mountain, Morning

Evening Storm Clouds, Mountains

From Tufa To Mountains, Dawn

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