Tag Archives: landsape

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

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs

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Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Another recently-shared photograph included three trees, the base of El Capitan, and the lower reaches of the creek that produces Horsetail Fall. In that post I mentioned that the camera position was a fruitful one, and that I had made several photographs from nearly the same spot on this visit to Yosemite. You would need guess from the very different subject, but this photograph comes from the same spot. I’m sure that I did not move the camera more than a few yards between the two photographs, though I did swing it around by about 180 degrees.

This row of trees, conifers mixed with deciduous trees at this elevation, stood at the edge of a partially flooded meadow along the Merced River. Places like this allow longer view that what we typically see within the forest, and from here the view included some of the monumental cliffs of surrounding the valley. In this rendition I cropped tightly around the trees to bring the focus on them.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Above the Fog

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Above the Fog
A monterey cypress on a rocky hill a obove fog shrouded coastline, Point Lobos.

Above the Fog.. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A monterey cypress on a rocky hill a obove fog shrouded coastline, Point Lobos.

This was a beautiful morning at the Point Lobos State Reserve along the upper Big Sur coast south of Monterey, California. I arrived to find thick fog — which is a good thing! It stuck around longer that usual, gradually lifting and thinning, starting to allow a bit of filtered, directional light in, and then dissipating. When I made this photograph the fog was still low, so low that at times it drifted below my camera position along the edge of a coastal cliff.

In different light this tree might produce a bright scene, but in this fog the effect is darker. I positioned myself just to the side of the tree, enough to make the far headland visible. It isn’t easy to see from the photograph, but to my left here was a substantial drop-off straight to the ocean.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

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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: Ocean & Coast

Fog, Trees, Meadow

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Fog, Trees, Meadow
Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

Fog, Trees, Meadow. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

During a break in California’s string of atmospheric river storms I managed to make a quick trip to the upper Big Sur coast this week. It is quite a scene there right now with numerous flooded areas, downed trees, washouts, slides, and closed roadways. This also means, of course, that the usual crowds are absent, so it was a fine time to go, even if some places I like to visit were off limits. (State parks were closed, and the lower half of the route was completely shut down.)

I stopped at this location, a spot where I have photographed for years, though this time I chose to make a photograph that focuses on something other than the obvious subject at this location. (That “obvious subject” may be just barely visible if you know where to look.) Often when I photograph in this spot I try to avoid including this lovely grove of big old trees and the meadow at its base, but they became the main subject in this photograph.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Imaginary Landscapes, Photographs: Nature

Winter Plants

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Winter Plants
Winter plants growing in a wetland pond, Central Valley, California.

Winter Plants. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter plants growing in a wetland pond, Central Valley, California.

Moving away from the recent large-scale landscape photographs, this one focuses on a small group of plants standing in a shallow Central Valley wetland pond. It is my assumption that the plants grow on dry land, but then this particular area floods in the winter and these simple plants become magical against the smooth background of the water’s surface.

This photograph is not exactly a literal reproduction of the plants’ appearance. Of course, no photograph is exactly equivalent to the complex reality of the subject, but here I went a bit further than usual — though still trying to work within the constraints of believability.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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