Tag Archives: high

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

First Light Above Tenaya Lake

August 7, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

The first morning light begins to light the granite domes and peaks above Tenaya Lake in the high-country of Yosemite National Park, California.

Although it is still more or less pre-dawn in the forest down around Tenaya Lake, morning is well underway above where the distant summit of Mount Conness is in full sun and the light is beginning to strike the granite ridges and domes above the lake. I’m always amazed at how few people who are in the area manage to get out and see the special beauty of dawn in the Sierra.

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: tenaya, lake, first, light, dawn, morning, sun, shadow, pywiak, dome, peak, face, cliff, granite, ridge, conness, mount, forest, tree, tioga, pass, road, highway 120, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, high, stock

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

Morning Virga, Mono Lake

August 6, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Early in the morning, Mono Lake is often a very still and quiet place and the sense of empty space and the scale of the landscape are palpable. Down close to the water the only sound comes from the gulls and the water is often nearly glass-smooth. (For a while – later in the day the wind often rises and the things become more agitated.)

I had spent an hour or more photographing at the shoreline in and around tufa towers and had finished for the morning. I had packed everything up and loaded the car and was actually starting to drive away when I saw this scene composed almost entirely of blue tones, with the clouds dropping virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) above the distant mountains, and a few isolated tufas offshore.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning

August 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning backlight catches a group of lodgepole pine trees growing on a series of granite slabs in the high country of Yosemite National Park.

This photograph carries with it what almost amounts to a bit of embarrassment – of the “how did I not see this” category. I have driven past this spot literally scores of times, more likely hundreds of times, and not seen the possible photograph here. In fairness, it was not always at this particular time of day, and it is in a location where it would be natural to be distracted by other visual interests.

In any case, this series of granite slabs on a low dome-like feature is fairly typical of the Sierra high county of Yosemite, and I am always attracted to the combination of the widely separated trees and the glacially-formed granite slabs. Here I was also attracted to the way the main trees were set off against the muted tones of the distant ridge which is still in shadow at the early hour of the 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.

keywords: lodgepole, tamarack, pine, granite, dome, slab, benches, morning, light, haze, back, glacial, polish, ledge, forest, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, tioga, pass, road, tenaya, lake, highway, 120, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

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

Boulder and Tarn

August 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A large boulder sits on a granite slab at the edge of a Sierra Nevada tarn whose surface reflects the sun-dappled rocks beyond.

A very short distance from one of the most popular viewpoints along Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road I found a faint and unmarked trail heading off into a small valley filled with glacial boulders and a convoluted terrain of small hills, little tarns (seasonal meltwater pools), and forest. And, of course, tons of mosquitoes. Despite forgetting to apply the bug juice, the place seemed interesting enough that I persisted long enough to find and photograph this small, quiet tarn and the large boulder sitting a flat bit of granite along its shore.

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.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

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