Tag Archives: high

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning
Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. July 23, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

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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

Boulder and Tarn

Boulder and Tarn
Boulder and Tarn

Boulder and Tarn. Yosemite National Park, California. July 23, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Thawing Ice, Sierra Nevada

Thawing Ice, Sierra Nevada
Thawing Ice, Sierra Nevada

Thawing Ice, Sierra Nevada. Yosemite National Park, California. June 29, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ice melts on the frozen surface of an alpine lake near the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park.

When I visited this lake very close to the Sierra Crest in the Yosemite back-country in late June, it was still completely covered with winter ice – though the thaw was well underway and the surface was a complex pattern of frozen sections and pools of water on top of the ice that reflected the sky, clouds, and surrounding mountains.

This photograph is a stitched panorama, created by combining two landscape mode photographs in the post-processing phase.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/640 second, stitched from two photographs

keywords: panorama, pattern, texture, reflection, gaylor, lake, basic, sky, cloud, shadow, frozen, water, alpine, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, crest, yosemite, national, park, tioga, pass, road, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, high, melt, thaw, ice, california, usa, north america, stock

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn
Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of dawn virga above mountains ringing Mono Lake.

Before dawn clouds formed by tropical moisture streaming up from the south had formed to the east of the Mono Basin and virga (rain that doesn’t make it all the way to the ground) was falling from them as the sky began to lighten. As I photographed alone from a high vantage point above the lake I was struck – how could you not be! – but the vast scale and the immense stillness and quiet of this landscape.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/8, 1/15 second

keywords: mono, lake, county, california, usa, north america, virga, rain, clouds, morning, dawn, reflection, mountains, ridge, hills, shore, line, tufa, towers, still, landscape, nature, eastern, sierra, nevada, desert, high, black and white, monochrome, stock