Tag Archives: high

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

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn

July 8, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

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.

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

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

Corn Lily Plants

July 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

New corn lily plants emerge alongside a stream in the Yosemite National Park high country.

Shortly after the winter’s snow melts, the Sierra corn lily plants begin to grow quickly in wet areas, especially those next to streams and lakes. This year I saw them earlier in the season than usual, and for the first time I saw them as they first emerged. I’m used to seeing them in the form shown in this photograph, with the large curving leaves that I assumed were responsible for the “corn” part of the plant’s name. However, as the plants first break through the soil they look almost exactly like unhusked corn, and now I wonder if that is the actual reason for the name.

These specimens, as is often the case, were growing in a tightly packed group along the banks of a fast-flowing stream that meanders through a nearly flat meadow. The plants remain beautiful throughout the season, though the nature of that beauty changes. Soon they will lose the lush green of spring and become somewhat tougher looking. At some point in late August they will begin to show some brown edges, and a bit later they will turn brilliant golden, yellow, and brown colors as the short Sierra summer comes to an end.

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

Cascade, Afternoon Light

July 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A back-country creek cascades across granite in afternoon light reflected from nearby rock faces, Yosemite National Park, California.

In places where a fast-moving stream drops rapidly down a glaciated granite slope (such places are found in various locations in the Yosemite high country) and the late afternoon sunlight reflects on the far side of the stream, the water can pick up the golden color of the reflected light. In this photograph I found a standing wave in the middle of turbulent section of water, and I positioned myself so that the reflected light was directly opposite my location.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

High Tide at Weston Beach, Approaching Storm

February 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

High tide and storm surf under clouds of an approaching winter storm at Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

This photograph was made from near the edge of Weston Beach during high tide on a day when a large Pacific storm was approaching. In more benign conditions and at low tide you would might exposed rocks and relatively quiet water in the area near the bottom of the frame – but not on this day! While I’ve ventured out onto the rocks at the left edge of the scene at low tide during the less-active summer months that would have been a very foolish thing to attempt on this day!

As with the photograph I posted yesterday, I thought that this might end up as a black and white image – and I still think it might. However, for now I have decided to go with the “barely-color” rendition. Because of the overcast and the haze created by the spray from the large surf, the colors in the original scene were very muted.

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: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, carmel, peninsula, highlands, coast, shore, highway, pacific, ocean, sea, bird, rocks, island, seascape, landscape, wave, surf, rugged, bluff, sky, clouds, storm, approaching, atmosphere, recession, silhouette, travel, scenic, weston, beach, high, tide, stock

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