Tag Archives: high

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Far Desert Mountains

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Far Desert Mountains
“Far Desert Mountains” — High desert mountain ridges sretch toward the horizon under morning clouds.

I know I am repeating myself, but one of the most impressive things about Death Valley National Park is the sheer scale of the place — the distances are huge. The only place I’ve experienced that impressed me the same way was the near-arctic in the Yukon Territories and Alaska. Here mountains go on, range after range, into the far distance. (As a friend of mine might point out, the haze here is an obvious example of “atmospheric recession.)

This photograph is also an example of why I’m a big fan of long focal lengths for landscape photography. Some will tell you that “landscape lenses” have short to normal focal lengths, and that wide-angle lenses should be your standard tools. I beg to differ. The truth? While I own ultra-wide lenses, I use them sparingly… and my favorite landscape photography lenses are often telephotos. Here I used a very long lens to compress the distance and to isolate a small, interesting section of much larger terrain.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Desert Aspens in Transition

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High Desert Aspens in Transition
A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

High Desert Aspens in Transition. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

Although my first inclination has always been to think of aspens as being trees of the high, subalpine zone, in fact they grow right down into the high desert, including along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. As such the trees are often found juxtaposed with what seem more like desert landscapes than the mountain scenes we might expect. I’m fascinated by these places, and I’ve long looked around for more examples.

This little winding grove sits near the bottom of a shallow valley that likely holds a stream during the spring melt. Here most of the trees are the typical small and sometimes stunted type, but the skeletons of a few taller trees are mixed into these little groves.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake

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Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake
Colorful dawn light reflected on the surface of Mono Lake.

Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Colorful dawn light reflected on the surface of Mono Lake.

On this morning I had a particular scene in mind to photograph at Mono Lake, so I was at that location before sunrise. I worked that subject until just before the sun actually rose, as planned, and then I turned to something different — the surface of the huge lake itself, slightly disturbed by morning breezes, with waterfowl here and there, as the sun was just about to top a mountain range fare to the east. I angled the camera downwards to keep the sky out of the frame, including just a bit of the distant mountains many miles away beyond the far shore.

On a clear morning like this one, the most intense sky color comes before sunrise, after which the brilliant sun washes out the colors that are visible earlier. To make this photograph I aimed the camera directly toward the point on the horizon where the sun would rise, so the very brightest portion of the colorful sky was strongly reflected on the lake’s surface.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Burned Pines, Morning Sky

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Burned Pines, Morning Sky
The skeletal remains of a stand of ponderosa pine trees under blue high desert sky, Mono Basin.

Burned Pines, Morning Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The skeletal remains of a stand of ponderosa pine trees under blue high desert sky, Mono Basin.

This photograph comes from my short trip to the area near Tioga Pass in Yosemite during the final days of summer — a trip to reacquaint myself with the Sierra after missing the entire summer up there. I camped near the crest where I could easily enter the park or head east and visit the eastern escarpment of the range and some of the nearby high desert terrain.

I made this photograph on a morning when I headed east, passing Mono Lake and continuing a bit further, then turning off the main road to drive along the edge of a huge ponderosa pine forest. At some point in the past a wildfire burned though here, and the skeletal burned trees have long fascinated me. These trees are right at the (former) edge of the grove, and Mono Lake and desert mountains are barely visible in the distance.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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