Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches

Image October 12, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections

Image September 25, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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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

Image September 23, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Ridges and Haze

Image September 11, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Layers of desert ridges extend into distant haze

Desert landscapes are, in some ways, what I think of as the most “pure” landscapes. Their aridity means that there is rarely much to obscure the actual geology of these places — no forests, no grassy meadows, few bodies of water. The landscape is laid bare.

The colors, textures, and patterns of rock and soil are revealed, and the changing light paints this landscape in remarkable ways. The colors change throughout the day depending upon the height of the sun, the color of surfaces reflecting the light, and the clarity of the sky. The atmosphere itself changes the landscape — crystal clear air reveals distant features as if they were close by, while air filled with blowing sand and dust obscures detail and focuses attention on larger elements of the scene.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Lakeshore, Trees, Benches

Talus Field, Shoreline, Reflections

Canal Boats, Amsterdam

Desert Ridges and Haze

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.