Tag Archives: landscape

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin Sentinels

Image Leave a comment
Mono Basin Sentinels
“Mono Basin Sentinels” — Rock towers in morning light on high desert hills above Mono Basin.

Mono Lake is immense, but it is dwarfed by the full extent of Mono Basin, the large valley it occupies. Prehistoric Mono Lake was much larger and deep enough to leave water marks along the base of mountains that are today quite dry. To get an idea of the full extent of the basin you must either travel around it (and learn how long it can take) or find a high place from which the whole thing is visible.

On this morning I was up in mountains south of the lake and the basin, mountains that form part of its border. I was there for some other photographic targets, including long views of the east side of the Sierra Nevada and some aspen groves. But as I worked I noticed these rock “sentinels” standing guard on a nearby ridge in morning light, and the view of the vast basin in the distance.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Aspen Thicket

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Aspen Thicket
“Autumn Aspen Thicket” — A thicket of dense aspen trees with autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This photograph comes from near the end of the autumn aspen color transition. Although one can stretch the season out to about one month, eventually the leaves all fall and we’re left with bare trunks. Generally speaking, the leaves fall first at higher elevations, and that’s where I found this grove. While the fully colorful trees are exciting, I also like this stage when the white trunks start to become the stars of the show.

There are many ways to photograph aspen trees, but I’m particularly fond of softer light. I find this when there is some thin overcast, or very early or late in the day, or even in light rain to snowfall. In this case I photographed at a time when nearby tall ridges blocked the direct sunlight, and the soft light filled the shadows.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Valley Light, Autumn

Image Leave a comment
Valley Light, Autumn
“Valley Light, Autumn” — Autumn light on trees in El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley.

By now this meadow and its trees and beautiful light seem like old friends. Over the years I have photographed these subjects many times — in winter snow, autumn color, spring greenery, and even in the hot, crowded summer months. Many things have changed during that time. A few trees have fallen and their trunks and branches decay, and a few young, new trees have appeared. Access has become more difficult as the Park Service tries to protect the vegetation, a change about which those of us who remember the “before times” have mixed feelings.

Ironically, the beautiful light streaming down through a gap in the upper cliffs and lighting the trees and meadows is emphasized here by smoke. It being autumn when I made the photograph, it was the season for managed fires, set in order to clear out excess undergrowth and promote a more healthy forest. But still, it was a bit disappointing to arrive in the Valley and find it full of smoke — until I noticed the beautiful effect it had on this light!

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Negit Island, Mono Lake

Image Leave a comment
Negit Island, Mono Lake
“Negit Island, Mono Lake” — Tufa formations along the shoreline of Mono Lake with Negit Island in the distance.

In a recent Mono Lake post I mused about finding and photographing less familiar views of this magnificent place. But I also mentioned that sometimes I do stop and photograph the well-known locations when the opportunity arises. With that in mind, I acknowledge that this photograph was made at one of the familiar places along the western shore of the lake. Heck, there’s even a place there to pull in, pay a fee, have a picnic, and take a hike!

The photograph encompasses a whole lot of “Mono Basin stuff.” Let’s start in the foreground with the dry shoreline vegetation adapted to tolerate the salty soil, and the small tufa structures in the water just offshore. The dark form in the distance is Negit Island, one of two volcanic islands in the lake. And in the far distant haze (the haze is also a feature of the place) we see desert mountains rising as the basins and range country of Nevada takes over.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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