Tag Archives: hour

Commentary

Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections

Image 1 Comment
Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections
A rocky peninsula, an alpine lake, reflections of the headwall in evening light

Alpine Lake, Evening Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rocky peninsula, an alpine lake, reflections of the headwall in evening light

In high places like this, where cirque walls tower over alpine lakes and block the light early and late in the day, evening quiet can come early. I had been walking to this spot almost daily for several days to try to make a photograph of a particular group of trees that caught the last sunlight in the late afternoon. On this day my timing was (finally!) right, and after I made that photograph I turned my attention to the rest of the scene, which was now in shadow.

To my left a small rocky peninsula pushed out into the lake near its outlet stream and supported a few trees and small plants that could gain a foothold it its cracks. Across the lake piles of talus lay at the bottom of the solid rock face of the valley’s headwall, where one snow patch remained, reflected in the quiet surface of the lake. That surface also reflected the rest of the face, including parts so high that they are not in direct view. The entire scene was illuminated by the soft blue light coming from the open sky above and behind me.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline, Glacial Moraine

Image Leave a comment
Shoreline, Glacial Moraine
An old glacial moraine reflected the water of an alpine lake in blue hour light

Shoreline, Glacial Moraine. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old glacial moraine reflected the water of an alpine lake in blue hour light

Over the years — decades, actually — I have learned to recognize more patterns in the backcountry landscape. (Which is not to say that I recognize or understand everything — there is still more to learn!) In places where I used to, and still do, respond with, “beautiful scene!,” I now ask additional questions: What makes it beautiful? Why does it look this way? How are these features connected? What processes are at work here? How is this changing? I have always known that glaciation played a big role in the formation of the Sierra Nevada. It is hard to miss this when crossing glacial polish on a granite slab or when tracing the shapes of Yosemite Valley. But it took longer to become aware of subtler effects.

For many years I hiked a particular route out to the Sierra crest that begins not far from Tioga Pass. There is considerable up and down in the first section of the hike — notable enough that I remember three specific such locations. It wasn’t until I had crossed them quite a few times that I realized that they were the remnants of very old lateral/media moraines. That doesn’t make them any easier to cross, but it does “excuse” them! This photograph includes another of these patterns, in this case a mound of gigantic boulders and smaller talus that was clearly pushed up by a small but long gone glacier that stopped just short of the shoreline of this lake. I made the photograph in blue hour light, in the shadows of the ridge above the talus field, and that light and the nearly smooth water evoke for me the stillness and deep quiet of such places.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Blue Hour Talus, Cliff and Lake

Image Leave a comment
Blue Hour Talus, Cliff and Lake
A talus field extends across the shore of an alpine lake

Blue Hour Talus, Cliff and Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A talus field extends across the shore of an alpine lake

During my recent September backcountry expedition to photograph areas of the John Muir Wilderness, we were fortunate to find ourselves in a place with lots of rocky terrain — tall peaks above, mountain slopes all around, talus fields leading into alpine lakes. The lower Sierra country with it forests and gentle steams is wonderful, but I really love the higher and more rugged country, where stunted trees grow among tarns and small lakes, and where the landscape is more and more rocky as you ascend.

Near the lake at which we camped a gigantic talus field descended from the nearby ridge. At first glance such things can appear almost random and undifferentiated, being the rock equivalent of beach sand. But in the right light, looked at in the right way, and especially with a smooth lake surface to reflect their forms, structural patterns and flows begin to appear from the complexity of this landscape. In direct sunlight these rocks can be almost too harsh to photograph, with huge contacts between black shadows and brilliant reflective highlights. But during the morning and evening “blue hour” periods the light is softened, filling in shadows, and adding a different sort of coloration to the scene.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook |
Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Egret, Blue Hour Fog

Leave a comment
Egret, Blue Hour Fog
An egret hunting in blue hour fog

Egret, Blue Hour Fog. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An egret hunting in blue hour fog

For those who don’t know the term, “blue hour” is that twilight period when the light tends to become soft and blue, most likely because the primary illumination is from the blue sky itself, with no assistance from direct sunlight. You might not notice the depth of the blue color of the light if you don’t think about it carefully or look at a photograph. Our eyes adjust to the color and see things as being “normal,” but the camera records (more or less) “what is.” Most often when people refer to blue hour they are referencing that period of early twilight — just after the red sunset tones have faded, but before it becomes extremely dark. Of course, there are two “blue hours” every day – one before sunrise and one after sunset.

I usually start my bird photography before it becomes light, and I frequently have to wait a bit before starting to photograph. On this morning it was exceptionally murky — not only was it still dark, but the tule fog was very thick. Eventually I looked for subjects that I could photograph in this challenging light. You are never far away from an egret in places like this, and it wasn’t long before I came upon one that was hunting in the nearby vegetation. In many cases I might try to compensate for the blue tones and the darkness, but here I instead decided to “go with the blue” and produce a photograph that feels more like such mornings actually feel.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.