Tag Archives: hill

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Utah Fall Color, Meadows

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Utah Fall Color, Meadows - Colorful autumn foliage of aspen and other trees near a meadow in the Dixie National Forest near Cedar City, Utah
Colorful autumn foliage of aspen and other trees near a meadow in the Dixie National Forest near Cedar City, Utah

Utah Fall Color, Meadows. Dixie National Forest, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn foliage of aspen and other trees near a meadow in the Dixie National Forest near Cedar City, Utah.

The opportunity to photograph this wild fall color resulted from the second “random ride” of the afternoon – with “random ride” being a family description of a drive that ends up going where no one would have predicted. After a brief afternoon visit to Cedar City, Utah to take care of some minor business involving coffee, we headed back up into the mountains to the east of town. Driving along, I spotted another road that branched off in a potentially promising direction, and without so much as a glance at the map I turned right and headed up a canyon.

Since I spotted some interesting color right away, and because the road looked like it would climb to elevations where I knew the color was good, I continued on it. The hunch paid off. As we ascended, wide open vistas appeared across a panorama ranging from south to north, and new and interesting colorful foliage continued to appear. We finally ended up at location where the road crossed one of the most colorful autumn foliage displays I have seen. After photographing a nearby grove of trees right above us, I turned my camera the other direction and found this composition that includes a wild assortment of colorful autumn trees (mostly but not entirely aspens) leading down to the edge of a small meadow.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

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

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range

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Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range - Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.
Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Yet more golden pre-autumnal light in the Yosemite Sierra! The scene is one of the many areas of subalpine meadow bordered (and sometimes being invaded by) forest trees found throughout the higher regions of Yosemite National Park. This particular bit of hilly and meadowy terrain was easier to access at the end of this dry season as the stream I crossed to get to this spot was very low. I shot during the last hour of the day as the sun angle became quite low, casting foreground shadows and softening details of more distant features in the seasonal haze.

The distant ridge is the Cathedral Range, with the iconic form of Cathedral Peak silhouetted at the far right. This was the kind of day that most often comes to mind when I think of early fall in the high Sierra – though the actual start of autumn was about a week away when I made the photograph. The weather was relatively warm for this elevation, and it had been mostly sunny all day. The early evening was softened by the haze and the golden hour light accentuated the golden brown colors of the meadow grasses and plants. Something about this time of year seems quieter and more peaceful than the main summer season – I’m not sure if it is the passing of the explosive summer growth period, the slowing of creeks, something in the wind or the light, or simply the knowledge that summer is ending.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

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

Dusk Haze, Stinson Beach

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Dusk Haze, Stinson Beach - Dusk haze from northern California forest fires colors the sunset sky above Stinson Beach.
Dusk haze from northern California forest fires colors the sunset sky above Stinson Beach.

Dusk Haze, Stinson Beach. North of San Francisco, California. August 29, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dusk haze from northern California forest fires colors the sunset sky above Stinson Beach.

The typical wildfires of September and October are a mixed blessing. They are most certainly tragic for those whose homes and livelihoods are affected by them, and Californians have learned to take their dangers very seriously. At the same time, fire is a natural part of the ecology in this part of the world, and a healthy environment for forests and grasslands seems to require periodic fire. In any case, the fires can also seem like a mixed blessing. If you go to areas affected by the smoke at this time of year – and it happens essentially every year – looking for clear vistas, you may well find them impeded by smoke and haze. On the other hand, if you look at this phenomenon just a bit differently you may find that the hazy atmosphere can produce its own visual magic – and especially at sunset.

This is another of several photographs I made at the end of the day just below Stinson Beach, as we climbed into the headlands hills of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area near sunset during our drive back down the coast from the Mendocino area. With this sort of atmosphere it is hard to know in advance just how things will evolve – will the day simply come to a quiet and gray conclusion, or will the golden hour light illuminate and color the atmosphere in brilliant sometimes almost unbelievable ways. The entire sky did not look like this, but down close to the horizon and right above the shoreline extending from Stinson Beach it did light up with a very colorful glow, so I used a long lens to limit the angle of view to the most colorful portions of the sky and haze.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco

Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk

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Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk - San Francisco's Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.
San Francisco’s Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.

Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk. Marin Headlands, California. August 29, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco’s Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.

A few moments before making this photograph, I had decided that I was done for the evening, as the light was fading very fast and the brilliant and intense sunset and post-sunset colors were draining from the scene. But a turn or two up the road I came upon this overlook, with its view traversing the steep headlands toward the south to where the low hills of San Francisco just outside the Golden Gate were visible, Sutro Tower stood high above these hills, and subtle shades of blue and rose light were still visible.

So we pulled over, and I quickly got set up – again! – and made a few exposures in this dying light. This light is just about as subtle and difficult to photograph as it gets. In fact, I almost didn’t bother! On the scene, it was quite dark – darker than this rendition would suggest. And in that darker dusk, the haze that here partially conceals the San Francisco hills made them almost invisible.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.