Tag Archives: lichen

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff

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Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff
A few plants grow in cracks on a colorful cliff face in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A few plants grow in cracks on a colorful cliff face in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

I’ll be honest. I had initially walked past this spot without even noticing it, back on the first day of our trip, when we were hiking in to the location of our base camp for the next week. I was tired, feeling the effects of altitude, and just wanted to “get there.” A few days later one of my compatriots happened to mention the “wall” back at the lake we had passed on the way in, and I made a mental note to try to visit before the trip ended. In fact, it wasn’t until the last full day of our visit that I finally made it back.

The site is special in several ways, though I’d bet that quite a few hikers don’t really notice it. It rises above a section of trail along the shoreline of a lake. The rocks vary from typical Sierra granite gray to dark slate-like rock, with veins of other materials running through here and there. There are some good-sized solid sections, but much of the wall is fractured and broken. Plants grow in some of the cracks and on ledges, and lichen is attached to the rocks as well. The wall remains in deep shade until rather late into the morning, but a beautiful wash of reflected light comes across the valley from bare peaks on the opposite side. Here you can view the photograph as a record of a real place, but you can also view it as an abstract construction of color and pattern. (I tend toward the latter way of seeing it.)

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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

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Coastal Forest, Point Lobos
Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 14, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Point Lobos State Reserve, located just above the Big Sur coastline, is not a large park, but it packs a lot of beauty into a small park. I have visited for decades, beginning long ago when my parents moved the family to California when I was about four years old and we used to take day trips there to picnic and visit the tide pools. (Today’s visitors would be shocked to know that it once was a quiet place not overrun by crowds. Ah, well.) In my teens, when I first became serious about photography, I used to go there and try to channel my inner Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. And, often to my surprise, I still find new surprises almost every time I visit.

On this mid-July visit I arrived in the morning on a weekday shortly after the park opened and before too many other people were there. I was hoping to time my visit for the breaking up of the morning fog, but it stayed foggy the entire time. I parked my car, shouldered a pack full of camera gear, and spent the next few hours wandering slowly and almost aimlessly across the northern half of the park, just looking and enjoying the cool coastal air. Eventually I found myself on familiar ground, walking along the north shore trail. I have passed this spot many times before and may even have photographed this bit of forest, but I had not really noticed these two light-barked trees — one twisted and one straight — surrounded by incredibly dense forest growth.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Basalt Columns and Lichen

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Basalt Columns and Lichen
“Basalt Columns and Lichen” — Yellow lichen growing on the basalt columns of Devils Postpile National Monument

This is one of several photographs I made of the Postpile on this autumn morning, and every time I post one more I get to tell a bit of a story on myself. Landscape photographers often get up very early, sometimes many hours before sunrise. On this morning we had plans to do just that, and if we had gotten up on time we would likely have gone of to photograph aspens somewhere. But we overslept! It had been a long week, the drive to the east side of the range the evening before had been a long one, and we had arrived late. So rather than waking up hours before sunrise, it was probably more like an hour after sunrise.

We were initially a bit disappointed at losing a sunrise, but we decided to just take it easy, and soon we sat down to a nice civilized breakfast — also something of an anomaly for early morning photographers. Eventually we decided to wander out and just go up to Devils Postpile, which wasn’t far away. Arriving well after the supposed good light, I was going to just leave my camera equipment in the car, but Patty persuaded me to take it. And was I glad I did. Here the sun rises behind the face of the postpile, which was still in shadow, though receiving some reflected light from behind us and from the blue sky. I had a short time to work in this lovely soft light before the sun finally peeked over the top and I found myself photographing straight into its light.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Columns and Lichen

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Columns and Lichen
Basalt columns and bright yellow lichen, Devils Postpile National Monument

Columns and Lichen. Devils Postpile National Monument, California. October 9, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Basalt columns and bright yellow lichen, Devils Postpile National Monument

This photograph is probably the result of at least one accident. We had gone to the Eastern Sierra for a few days to photograph fall color, arriving late in the evening, tired and ready to sleep. We discussed how early we would get up the next morning, but I managed to remain vague about my plans, secretly hoping that I might not wake up on “photographer time,” but perhaps actually sleep in a bit! In fact, that is what happened — and it was probably a good thing since I was tired after three busy weeks including several previous trips over the crest to photograph on the east side of the range.

Of course, once we got up late we still had to figure out what we would photograph. Obviously dawn light was out of the question, and it seemed like we might not get out until the best early and soft light for aspen color had passed. We hatched a very general plan to head over to Devils Postpile National Monument, though I didn’t have real high hopes for it. However, once we arrived we realized that we had actually come at just the right time. This feature, at this time of year, doesn’t get sunlight very early. When we arrived the face was still in beautiful, soft, shaded light but the surroundings were reflecting some light onto the columns. That’s what I call a “happy accident!”

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