Tag Archives: lake

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

Fisherman, Ellery Lake, Sierra Crest

August 15, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A lone fisherman casts into Ellery Lake beneath ridges rising through haze toward the Sierra Nevada crest

This photograph includes a subject that I’ve stopped and looked at many time, thinking there must be a photograph in it somewhere – and even trying to photograph it a few times – but never quite figuring out how to see it. Ironically, it was the wildfire haze and smoke that made it work for me this time, as that haze muted some of the over-abundance of fine detail that I think can distract from the larger form in this scene, and which also muted the bright reflections on the water which can otherwise be hard to manage.

I thought of this as monochrome image when I made it. (I don’t always know that at the time of exposure, but with digital we have the luxury of making that decision later if necessary.) My first thought was to make it a “natural” landscape, but I noticed that a fisherman had appeared along the left end of the foreground peninsula. Often my first reaction to the appearance of a person in my landscapes is to wait for the person to move. But I have learned that sometimes a very small figure in the landscape can change the image in ways that seem oddly out of proportion to the size of the figure. Here, especially in a larger print, the little figure against the background of the shining water changes everything, I think. Place the tip of your finger over that person to cover him, and see if you see what I mean. I did also continue to make a few more exposures after he left, but I like this one the best.

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

Forest And Meadow, Evening Haze

August 12, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Evening haze settles on the Sierra Nevada above forest and meadow near Lee Vining Creek.

Atmospheric haze and I have a special relationship. ;-) While I love crystal clear alpine air, I’m far more fond of “interesting” atmospheric conditions that involve haze that may partially obscure certain details, accentuate distance contrasts between close and far objects, take on interesting colorations, and even glow when lit from behind. During this early August visit to the Sierra on both sides of Tioga Pass, I encountered some significant haze from a serious wildfire in the Mammoth Lakes area. One one hand, this complicated (or rendered nearly impossible!) certain types of “grand landscape” photographs since the constant brown, smoggy haze isn’t quite what we typically are looking for. However, to me this most certainly does not mean that photography and even landscape photography cannot be done. Not only can it be done, but these conditions can create possibilities that are difficult or impossible to find in more typical conditions. (However, in reality, wildfire smoke is “typical” in the Sierra and many other places during certain times of the year.)

There are a number of ways to use smoke and haze in photographs. In this case I found primary foreground subjects that were close enough that they were not obscured. The haze, however, quickly muted the contrast and color of parts of the scene that were even a short distance away on the other side of the valley. The dark, backlit forms of the near trees stand out against this muted background rather than disappearing into the complex patterns and textures of the more distant forest. The backlight had a few other beneficial effects. It intensifies the colors of the low plants growing beneath and between the trees. It creates a sort of highlighting effect on near and far trees, giving a bit more relief to their textures. And it adds a bit of a glow to that smoke and haze, to the point the further alpine slopes in the upper left show only the barest details.

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

Lake, Granite, and Forest Reflection

July 15, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Granite slabs rise above the reflected shoreline of Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

I woke up on this morning in Yosemite Valley, car camping (as in “camping in the back of my car”) so that I could rise well before dawn, get out of the Valley, and drive over Tioga Pass in the morning light on this first weekend during which the road was open. It had actually opened the previous day, and I had made a ritual midday “first of the season” drive to the pass, but it was in light that was less than inspiring – hence my return at an earlier hour this next morning. It was dark when I left the Valley and the sky began to lighten as I headed up toward highway 120 and the trans-Sierra route.

I stopped along the way in the very early light to photograph lakes and rocks and trees and granite, and by the time I arrived at the shoreline of Tenaya Lake I felt like the light was going. However, the stillness of the water and the slight atmospheric recession produced by morning haze caught my attention and I pulled over. The main draw for me in this composition and a few other similar ones that I did at the same time was the reflection of the sunlit granite slabs ascending from the far shoreline. I also wanted to contrast that hard and bright surface with the softer and darker patterns of the forest beyond and the shaded faces above the forest.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves, First Light

June 21, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

First morning light on aspen trees and fall foliage, eastern Sierra Nevada, California

This past fall I had exactly one day to photograph aspens in the eastern Sierra Nevada. This was a bit odd for me, since I usually spend quite a number of days chasing fall aspen color up and down the east side of the range. But this year my target was a bit further away in Utah, and we merely paused for an extra day on the “east side” on our way to that other state. Fortunately, we hit great conditions, in terms of good aspen color and fine weather that didn’t prevent us from getting up to those trees.

Very early in the morning we headed up to an area that I have photographed many times. There are a couple of iconic photographic subjects at this location, but I mostly got them out of my system some years ago and now I look for somewhat less obvious subjects when I go here. I began by shooting some trees near the outlet stream of a lake, with early morning light behind the trees. After working that tricky but beautiful light for a while, I decided to go around to the far side of the lake to where a large stand of small but densely packed aspens stands at the base of a hillside. I got there before the sun came to this spot, so I quickly schlepped my gear up the hill a ways and into the end of the grove, setting up just before the sun arrived. Before the sun’s rays hit the tree, everything had a distinctly blue tone. As the edge of the shadow arrived, the aspen leaves began to glow more and to cast shadows on the trees in the background. These shadows quickly transitioned from soft and subtle to quite contrasty and sharply defined in a matter of seconds. This photograph was made just as the sunlight arrived but before it became intense, and the soft shadows of the leaves on the slender background trunks lasted just a moment.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: lake

Fisherman, Ellery Lake, Sierra Crest

Forest And Meadow, Evening Haze

Lake, Granite, and Forest Reflection

Aspen Leaves, First Light

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