Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

August 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunrise light on trees ascending the side of a volcanic cone, east of the Sierra Nevada

I frequently photograph in the Mono Basin, at and around Mono Lake. I have been photographing there long enough that I’ve learned to look beyond the famous tufa formations — worthy photographic subjects that they area — and try to find other elements that also are intrinsic to the character of the place. The lake itself is one subject — its huge expanse, the immense quiet and stillness often found there, the birds, and the sky. The surrounding terrain is also very interesting once you spend some time looking away from the lake: the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, gentle terrain rising to eastward mountains, ponderosa pine forests, and more.

Many years ago I became intrigued by these trees that grow a good distance up the sides of the volcanic domes rising just south of the lake. At certain times the light bathes them in color and can turn a normally drab scene into something quite striking. ON this morning the sun had just risen into hazy skies, and there was a great deal of red in the light, contrasting with the very blue color of the shadows.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow

August 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early morning light illuminates a ridge in glaciated granite terrain

I camped outside the park on this visit to the Sierra, and before dawn I was on the road and over Tioga Pass, heading toward various potential photographic subjects back along Tioga Pass Road. (I often end up camping over the pass on the east side of the park — this time it was because no campgrounds were yet open along the entirety of Tioga Pass Road due to the heavy winter snowfall and delays in clearing the roadway.) I wasn’t positive where I would photograph, but I knew that I’d find light if I looked.

After stopping to photograph a few other subjects I ended up all the way past Tenaya Lake, and I stopped at a well-known overlook. My initial idea was to photograph back-lit trees on ridges to the east, so I went to work on that subject first. As I finished I noticed that the sun was high enough that it was beginning to strike some of the high points on the large previously shaded granite slopes nearby. Here the first light has stretched across the length of a rib of rock, and in the shadows you can see the shapes of trees on the ridge over which the sunlight was streaming.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Unclassified, Photographs: Yosemite

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest

August 26, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The last ground fog clears in the distance beyond a young Tuolumne Meadows tree.

In mid-July we were in the Tuolumne Meadows area for a single night, camping at the main campground. It was a little bit of a lazy trip — photography was on the agenda, but the main reason we were there was to field-test some new gear that we plan to make more substantial use of on an upcoming trip. Very heavy wildfire smoke also put a bit of a damper on photography on the first day and into the evening. So when I went to sleep that night I wasn’t really sure if the smoke would clear in the morning, and I entertained the possibility of sleeping in.

A half hour before dawn I awoke and peered outside. It was hard to see in the faint light, but it appeared that the smoke had pretty much cleared, so I unzipped my sleeping bag, quickly dressed warmly, grabbed camera gear, and was on my way to the nearby meadow. I arrived before the first sun arrived, a very quiet and peaceful time when few others are out and about. In fact, for an hour I had “my” section of the meadow and surrounding forest entirely to myself. Soon the first beams of sunlight arrived and the thin ground fog began to dissipate. I love shooting into the morning light, especially when there is a just a bit of haze in the atmosphere. If you look closely you may be able to see the last remnants of the ground fog on the far side of the meadow.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Forest, and Dome

August 23, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light on Lembert Dome and the forest and grasses of Tuolumne Meadow

The prior day was one of thick wildfire smoke, coming mainly from a fire on the far side of the park near Wawona, but also with contributions from various others fires including some small, managed lightening fires. The effect was not good — the smoke here was as thick as I’ve ever seen it before, including during a late summer visit to Cathedral Lakes a few years back during the height of the drought, when at times it seemed like the entire Sierra was on fire. In any case, the evening before I made this photograph it was still very smokey, and I wondered what the next morning would bring.

As usual, I woke up before sunrise. I was tempted to stay in the warm sleeping bag a while longer, but I summoned the focus to look outside. Noting that I could see blue sky, I got up fairly quickly and left the tent, heading down to the meadow. There was still just a bit of residual smoke hanging around, and there was also a shallow layer of light ground fog. All of this produces some very interesting atmosphere and light as I wandered the meadow, walking between grassy areas and encroaching bits of forest. I paused here, positions myself so that the large trees at the right would block the direct sun, and I made a few photographs including all of the elements of this landscape except the river that passed by out of sight.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest

Meadow, Forest, and Dome

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