Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Subalpine Lake Shore And Forest

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Subalpine Lake Shore And Forest
Subalpine forest ascends on granite benches above a small lake

Subalpine Lake Shore And Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Subalpine forest ascends on granite benches above a small lake

This scene is located in one of the lovely intimate landscape areas of the valley we visited in mid-September this year. While spectacular alpine ridges and peaks and long vistas seem like primary features of the Sierra Nevada, the more time you spend there the more you’ll come to think of scenes like this one as defining the nature of the place. It is a land of bare granite slabs and benches, on which small trees managed to find sustenance, broken up by lakes and tarns and meadows. While those monumental peaks are often visible above, these scenes are more characteristic and perhaps affecting.

The light is special, too. In this terrain of open forests, widely spaced trees, rocky formations, lakes and meadows the light manages to find its way into nearly every corner of the landscape. Unlike denser forests, where the ground can seem to be in perpetual shade, here the light almost always breaks through. Even in areas where the light is blocked by peaks, other peaks often reflect soft light to illuminate the shadows. And everywhere, especially early and late in the day, back-light can make the trees and grasses glow.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches

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Lakeshore, Trees, Benches
A series of tree-covered rocky benches rises from the shore of a small subalpine lake

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A series of tree-covered rocky benches rises from the shore of a small subalpine lake

As I have mentioned previously, one of the pleasures of photographing from a backcountry base camp is that it provides opportunities to get to know the landscape more intimately. I have the opportunity to revisit locations in different or better conditions, and over the course of the visit I learn more about the landscape as I explore it.

This spot is a case in point. All of us went into this general area — perhaps a 10-15 minute walk from our camp — starting near the beginning of our stay. It is a complex landscape of small lakes, cut through by granite benches, and covered with meadows and an open forest of small trees. Our first approach was by the most obvious trail, but later in the week we began to discover alternatives. One of those alternative approaches brought us to this spot, where an elevated camera position permitted a view down toward the edge of this grass-line lake and beyond to the series of rising hills covered with trees.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections

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Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections
The rocks at the bottom of a large talus field are reflected in still waters.

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rocks at the bottom of a large talus field are reflected in still waters.

The general area where we staying the Sierra backcountry last week featured lots of broken and fallen rock — partly from glacial sources and partly from later erosion — along with tall ridges that gave us hours of soft, shaded light in the morning and the evening. Broken talus slopes are common in the higher reaches of the Sierra, but this area seemed to have an exception amount of the stuff. These talus fields often contain mixtures of rock types, as they are frequently carried down from high peaks.

The talus slope photographed here was just across the lake from where we were camped, so I was able to walk over a few hours before the first sunlight finally made it over the peak to our east. The jumbled and jagged rocks and boulders covered the slope right down to (and beyond) the edge of the lake. In the shadow of the nearby mountain the light was soft and quite blue, the latter because almost all of the illumination was coming from that giant light panel we call the sky. I photographed for quite a while, until a breeze came up and broke the quiet surface of the water.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.

Photographs: Netherlands, Photographs: Urban/Street

Canal Boats, Amsterdam

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Canal Boats, Amsterdam
Scene along one of Amsterdam’s larger canals

Canal Boats, Amsterdam. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Scene along one of Amsterdam’s larger canals

In contrast to the last photograph of an Amsterdam canal that I posted yesterday (that one was more intimate and included lots of trees) this canal is closer to the center of the city and is not as much softened by trees and so forth. Here the water is much wider and larger boats can pass. In fact, a number of tour boats are moored along the right side and in the center of the frame.

Aside from the curve of the canal and the ubiquitous boats, it was the light that caught my attention here. The buildings at the right are more or less front-lit by the late day sun, while in the distance dark clouds are about to bring rain. A single smaller boat heads up the canal at the far left.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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