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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Peninsula, First LIght

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Peninsula, First LIght
The first morning light strikes a tree on a rocky peninsula reflected in the still water of an alpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Peninsula, First LIght. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first morning light strikes a tree on a rocky peninsula reflected in the still water of an alpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Our group’s method is generally to pack in to a base camp location, and to then remain in that single location for a week or so. Many years ago, when my primary orientation was that of a backpacker, I recall being almost terrified of staying in one spot so long — I imagined that I would be bored. But the opposite turns out the be the case. I gradually push my boundaries out from the camp, learning the variables of light and conditions, and get to the know the area much more intimately. I may initially visit a spot in light that is just “OK,” but then make plans to return when it is likely to be perfect. (And when I blow it I can come back and try again!)

This lake was only a ten or fifteen minute walk away from our camp. I had visited it some years back on a pack trip, but only briefly. This time I was able to wander up there quite a few times, in both morning and evening hours. On my first visit of this trip I missed the timing on the light, arriving just after interesting light had left some picturesque snags. But on the visit when I made this photograph everything worked out just right. I arrived very early before the sunlight had made it down to lake level, and I spent time photographing in this quiet light. Then I decided to move to a feature that I had scouted on the previous visit, and that also provided the light I was looking for. Finishing that, I decided to climb a higher ridge and traverse around the side of the lake, but as I did so I looked back and saw this scene illuminated by the reflected glow of rocks that were now in sunlight. I stopped and made a series of photographs of this little peninsula, the dark and reflective lake surface, and the jumbled rocks along the shoreline.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clouds, Evening Sky

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Clouds, Evening Sky
Sunset clouds above the Sierra Nevada crest, John Muir Wilderness

Clouds, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset clouds above the Sierra Nevada crest, John Muir Wilderness.

Sierra skies will please or distress you, depending upon your relationship to them and to light. Many visitors absolutely love the days-long stretches of perfect blue skies that occur here, frequently uninterrupted by any clouds at all. (These conditions are among those that give rise to the “Range of Light” designation for these mountains.) On the other hand, photographs often find these “perfect” conditions to be boring, and you might be surprised to hear us complain about too much blue sky!

Our late-August arrival at this location was accompanied by rain during the afternoon on the day we hiked in — no downpours, but enough to gently soak everything and persuade us to put on parkas and set up tents. On the second day we had a few more clouds… but that was pretty much it. The rest of our stay (with the exception of our walk back out, when it did rain again) featured — you guessed it — one of those “days-long stretches of perfect blue skies.” So, after days of such aggravatingly perfect weather, we were absolutely thrilled when these lovely sunset clouds drifted over our valley in the evening on our last full day, glowing with gentle color against the deepening blue of the evening sky.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ridge And Lake, Twilight

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Ridge And Lake, Twilight
The last twilight alpenglow on peaks above a John Muir Wilderness lake

Ridge And Lake, Twilight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last twilight alpenglow on peaks above a John Muir Wilderness lake.

A group of us spent last week base-camped at 11,000′ in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, in an open landscape of lakes, meadows, granite slabs, and high ridges. Our most pressing concerns were making photographs, reveling in our surroundings, and enjoying one another’s company. We do this every year — some have been doing it for nearly two decades, I’ve been part of it for about ten years, and we added one new participant this time. In some following posts I’ll have more to say about the goals and experience of such a thing.

Because of our location, each evening the final light would fall on a long ridge above a high, glaciated valley to our southeast. Although the sun had already set, this high spot was open to light coming from the other side of the Sierra crest, far to the west and perhaps even along the distant Pacific coast. Set against the twilight sky and shadowed nearer landscape of rock, water, and trees, this last bit of light was dramatic, and it never failed to capture our attention.

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.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Commentary, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains

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Meadow, Forest, and Mountains
Clouds in the sky above meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds in the sky above meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness.

This is another photograph that emerged from the raw file archives as I reviewed photographs from a weeklong backcountry photography expedition a couple of years ago — that year’s version of the annual trips I make with a group of like-minded photographers. As per the usual plan, we made our way to a beautiful backcountry location, set up a base camp, and went to work spending the next week photographing the area like mad.

A short walk above our camp the country opened up into the terrain that is among my favorite in the Sierra — forests of smaller trees, broken up by rock-dotted meadows, and expansive high-elevation views to surrounding ridges and peaks. I made this photograph on a morning visit to this spot, starting to photograph before dawn and continuing into the early morning after sunrise. For the most part, the sky was typical “perfect Sierra blue,” but I was fortunate when a few clouds began to form about the distant ridge.

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

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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