Tag Archives: hill

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Fort Mason Buildings, The Golden Gate

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Fort Mason Buildings, The Golden Gate

Fort Mason Buildings, The Golden Gate. San Francisco, California. August 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Golden Gate Bridge stands in the distance beyond the buildings of historic Fort Mason in San Francisco, California.

A few weeks ago I accompanied my wife to Fort Mason, where she was playing in the orchestra for Merola Opera, and I took advantage of the time to spend a few hours wandering around doing photography in the area. Mostly I photographed the old Fort Mason buildings and details of their structure, but I also wandered – along with the throngs of out-of-town tourists – up and over the nearby hill towards the Aquatic Club and the fringes of the Fishermans Wharf area.

At the top of the path over this hill there is a great panorama looking back towards the Golden Gate over the tops of the historic buildings of Fort Mason.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: hapag-loyd, ship, boat, freighter, golden gate, bridge, marin, headlands, hill, mountain, fort, mason, tower, cable, pacific, ocean, coast, building, roof, tile, window, bird, gull, sea, texture, wall, skylight, vent, structure, architecture, historic, travel, scenic, landscape, sky, san francisco, california, usa, waterfront, urban, city, silhouette, stock, black and white

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Boulders, Upper Young Lake

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Boulders, Upper Young Lake

Boulders, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small islands catch the evening light at Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park.

On this late-July evening I climbed from Lower Young Lake to the upper lake an hour or so before sunset, hoping to photograph the lake and the surrounding open terrain as the day ended. The lake provides a real alpine scene, as it is set in an open meadow interspersed with glacial remains and scattered groups of trees with tall, rocky ridges and peaks to the south, east, and north – but open to the sunset in the west.

On a side note, I’ve been to this lake a number of times. Although the walk up from the lower lake isn’t all that far (perhaps a mile or so) I’ve always wondered about one section of the use trail that more or less ascends right up a steep section of the creek flowing from the lake. This time I took a closer look at the map instead of just walking where the trail seemed to go, and I found a much easier approach that leaves the main trail at the middle lake.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada

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Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada. Near Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The clouds of a late-spring storm along the Sierra Nevada crest clear as evening light illuminates sage-covered high desert slopes near Mono Lake.

Another photograph in this brief series of black and white images, this one was made very close to Mono Lake. If you have been to the famous (at least among sunrise photographers!) South Tufa area at Mono, you may know the road that departs highway 395 and heads east to that wonderful photo location. Between highway 395 and where the road drops down to the lake shore, it crosses a low ridge with good views in every direction but directly south. It was from here that I made this photograph – and a few others that may turn up here eventually.

Shooting Mono Lake late in the day can be a bit tricky since the light disappears behind the Sierra crest earlier than one might think. If the conditions are right an evening shot from Mono can be fine, but often the light is less challenging in the morning. On this afternoon I had first headed out to South Tufa, but decided that it wasn’t looking right – so I headed back up towards the June Lake loop. Once there the clouds over the crest began to break up, so after shooting some images in that area I headed back towards Mono. As I topped this hill before the descent to South Tufa I saw this wonderful back-light on the sage-covered foreground hills so I stopped right at the top of this hill and photographed this scene.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meltwater Pond and Grasses, Mount Gibbs and Kuna Crest, Tuolumne Meadows

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Meltwater Pond and Grasses, Mount Gibbs and Kuna Crest, Tuolumne

Meltwater Pond and Grasses, Mount Gibbs and Kuna Crest, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening sky is reflected in a meltwater pond at the edge of a Tuolumne Meadows with Mount Gibbs and the Kuna Crest beyond, Yosemite National Park, California.

A rather peaceful evening scene, again at the seasonal runoff ponds near the west end of Tuolumne Meadows on and early July evening. I’m always intrigued by the patterns that the partially submerged meadow grasses make in these ponds, and here in the way they interrupt the sky reflected in the surface of the pond. On this evening I was also struck by the unusual coloration of the clouds about the summit of Mt Gibbs (at the left) and Mammoth Peak and barely-sunlit Kuna Crest in the center and right half of the frame.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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