Tag Archives: lake

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Bear Gulch Reservoir

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Bear Gulch Reservoir
“Bear Gulch Reservoir” — Spring at Bear Gulch Reservoir, Pinnacles National Park

This small reservoir sits at the upper end of a very popular trail through caves at Pinnacles National Park. The area has been in my consciousness for decades. The caves were perhaps the “main attraction” when my family visited the park (then a national monument) when I was just a kid, so I distinctly remember emerging from the canyon at the upper end of the caves to arrive at this reservoir. I’m not sure of its history, but I suspect that the reservoir has been there a very long time, certainly before it was even a a national monument.

The reservoir is relatively sheltered in the bottom of this canyon, and the water was very still on the day of this recent visit. The surrounding terrain is filled with the pinnacles that give the park its name. If you look closely, you may be able to see a couple of fellow hikers taking a rest in the shade next to the water in the lower left corner of the scene.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Nature

Clearing Storm, Evening

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Clearing Storm, Evening
A spring storm clears in evening light, San Luis Obispo County

Clearing Storm, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spring storm clears in evening light, San Luis Obispo County.

Late in the day had travelled across the main valley of the Carizzo Plain to a location that I thought would bring good evening light form the west. It had been a day of mixed and changeable weather conditions — sunlight one moment, rain the next, and patterns of both speeding across the landscape. My plan was to stake out a location open to the sunset light and hope for the best. It turned out OK, though clouds stood between me and the light and it never really did light up where I was standing.

However, because I was up against the mountains of the Temblor Range I had a bit of elevation, just enough to gain a wider view of the landscape. As sunset approached, breaks appeared in the cloud cover on the far side of the valley, and I was able to use a long lens to pick out vignettes from this larger landscape. This photograph makes in clear that I was shooting from the shadows, so to speak — look at the dark valley, broken by sky light reflected in water. But beyond that a newly green springtime ridge was in the sun, with beams of golden light coming through the clouds.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Wildfire Smoke

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Mono Lake, Wildfire Smoke
Mono Lake and tufa towers with drifting wildfire smoke in morning light

Mono Lake, Wildfire Smoke. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mono Lake and tufa towers with drifting wildfire smoke in morning light.

My foremost impressions of Mono Lake are usually formed around its vast expanse — the place is absolutely huge, and the low mountains to its east accentuate this effect. The great open space above its water usually presents an equally expansive view of sky, whether it is pure blue or broken by various clouds. (My other strong impression of the place is an audio impression — a combination of early morning silence and the sounds of thousands of birds.)

I made this photograph during very unusual conditions. On this late-summer morning a very large wildfire was erupting south of here, and its smoke was drifting northward in the early morning. The morning light was increasingly blocked by the smoke and eventually (after I made this photograph) the smoke became oppressively thick and I had to leave. When I made the photograph the smoke was drifting softly in front of those distant mountains and glowing faintly in the early morning backlight.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke

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Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke
Morning sun rising through a pall of wildfire smoke, east of the Sierra Nevada

Rising Sun, Wildfire Smoke. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rising through a pall of wildfire smoke, east of the Sierra Nevada,

This was one of the most eerie days I have experienced in the Sierra. While it wasn’t the first of last time I’ve encountered the effects of wildfire there, this was quite different. The previous evening I had seen a bit of smoke far to the south, but didn’t think too much of it, as this was the wildfire season and such things aren’t unusual. I was camped in a deep east side valley that did not afford a distant view, so it wasn’t until I left that valley in the early morning and headed out on the east side fo the range that I saw what was happening.

I arrived at the junction of US 395 and Tioga Pass Road before dawn and found a high spot to photograph Mono Lake. It was immediately clear that a very active wildfire was building to the south and that the smoke was drifting north. It was still mostly clear above the lake, but not for long. Soon the smoke nearly obscured the view, though I continued photographing. I thought that heading north might get me away from the smoke, but now it was spreading fast and I couldn’t escape it. I made a few photographs from a high location that featured the smoke-filled Mono Basin, and then I started toward the southern Sierra. Passing again by Mono Lake I encountered some of the thickest wildfire smoke I have seen. This photograph was made under that pall, which was so dark that it barely seemed like twilight and the light of the sun was almost blocked.

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.