Tag Archives: late

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Clearing Sunset Storm, Mono Basin

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Clearning Sunset Storm, Mono Basin
A late-summer storm above the Mono Basin breaks up at sunset.

Clearing Sunset Storm, Mono Basin. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A late-summer storm above the Mono Basin breaks up at sunset.

Sometimes when conditions don’t look promising where I am I make some guesses, rely on hunches, consider past experience, and head off in a different direction at the last minute. On this evening I was up near the crest of the Eastern Sierra, hoping for a break in the clouds and some interesting light. But it did not look like that was going to happen, so I jumped in my vehicle and headed down to the East Side and looked for long views that might include the landscape and what I hoped would be interesting end-of-day light.

Arriving there, not a lot was happening. The crest was socked in by clouds that obscured the peaks and blocked the light from the west. Where I was it was fairly gray. But I know that it isn’t unusual for some clearing to occur near sunset — and if it happens colorful light can suffuse the landscape. I had to wait until nearly the last minute, but the light finally arrived. Gaps appeared in the clouds and beams of colorful light began to stretch across the scene. In this photograph the clouds are above desert mountains and the Mono Lake Basin.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm

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Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm
A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

My favorite time of year in the Sierra Nevada high country is right now — roughly between mid-September and mid-October or a bit later. I love the place all year, wonderful stuff happens during this season. The overbearing crowds of summer are mostly gone — and I can just show up and get a campsite! The sun is often still warm, but its intensity has diminished. The light trends toward warm and soft and golden. Fall colors arrive and, of course, we sense winter out there on the seasonal horizon. These last easy, warm days seem even more precious as they come to an end yet again.

On the other hand, this transitional period brings surprises including cold, rain, graupel, hail, wind, snow… all of which I experienced on a few recent late-September days. I made this photograph from my camp at 9000’+ of elevation just outside Yosemite’s eastern border. Shortly after I set up my tent the sky darkened and soon rain, hail, and graupel arrived. The trees on this rocky prominence we in the last bit of soft light before the storm arrived and I took cover.

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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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Carmo Gifts

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Carmo Gifts
People in front of a Lisbon shop on a steeply-inclined street at night.

Carmo Gifts. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

People in front of a Lisbon shop on a steeply-inclined street at night.

We spent four nights (and days) in Lisbon during out summer 2023 travels. It is a fascinating city, with a very different character than Porto, the other Portuguese city we visited this time. It seem more urbanized and modern, but like Porto — perhaps even more so — it is partially defined by its very hilly terrain. For people like us, who walk a lot when we travel, this was not a trivial factor!

We stayed in an area of older, narrow streets some distance above the city’s famous elevator — though we never made use of it. More than once we followed a walking route down to the central city in an area near the railroad station, following some streets that were exceptionally steep in places. This shop is on one of those steep sections, and I photographed it as we walked back up one evening, as its light spilled out onto the sidewalk and passers-by.

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

Trees and Haze, El Capitan

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Trees and Haze, El Capitan
Late-afternoon spring haze mutes the contours of El Capitan, standing beyond groups of Yosemite Valley trees.

Trees and Haze, El Capitan. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Late-afternoon spring haze mutes the contours of El Capitan, standing beyond groups of Yosemite Valley trees.

Near the end of my one-day (one very long day!) visit to Yosemite Valley the week before the Memorial Day crowds arrive, I visited a few spots in the lower Valley that are familiar to me. I went to this location mainly to photograph a flooded meadow that is surrounded by trees and from which granite cliffs are visible. These trees were silhouetted against the base of El Capitan, whose form and textures were muted by afternoon haze.

Haze can be the photographer’s enemy or friend. It certainly interferes if you are looking for clear, detailed photographs of distant subjects. On the other hand, it can accentuate the distance between objects, mute distant details to bring attention to closer subjects, and lend a moody emotion to a 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” 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.