Tag Archives: light

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

Winter Oak, Cliff

March 26, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A dormant winter oak in back-light, against the backdrop of granite Yosemite cliff

Near the end of February I spent a few days in and around Yosemite Valley. I scheduled my visit to coincide with the opening reception of the 2017 Yosemite Renaissance exhibit at the Yosemite Visitor Center Museum Gallery. The annual show features work by artists focusing on Yosemite and the Sierra, including almost every medium imaginable — and one of my photographs was in the show this year.

Almost any visit to Yosemite Valley calls for photography, so I arranged my schedule to be there for three days. While I hiked a lot on some days, on this day I hopped in my vehicle and headed down the Valley to visit various areas including El Capitan Meadow with its beautiful winter-bare trees and the backdrop of huge cliffs. The face of Sentinel Rocks, almost always in shade at this time of year, rises behind this single back-lit dormant oak tree.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dense Brush, Morning Light

March 25, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light falls on dense brush at Pinnacles National Park

Today’s photograph is another from my recent re-introduction to Pinnacles National Park in the mountains to the east of California’s Salinas Valley, following a gap of decades since my last visit. Despite being a place that I regularly visited when I was much younger — back then I rode a bike there to camp, went there to rock climb, hiked the trails and caves — it had somehow slipped off my map of places to visit. For the past few years, since its conversion from National Monument to National Park status, I’ve been planning to finally return.

If your experience with National Parks is mainly with the big, iconic parks such as Yosemite or Yellowstone, this park is going to surprise you with its intimacy. It is a relatively small place, and even its primary visual feature, the High Peaks, doesn’t present a single, focused identifying image in the way that, say, Half Dome or Old Faithful do. It seems more the sort of park that is about subtle and small things and the overall experience of the place — mostly California chaparral terrain that can evoke a sense of near desert at times. I made this photograph earlier in the morning when I paused along a route through a canyon when I came upon dense, back-lit foliage.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Trees, Morning Light

March 21, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunlight illuminates trees on a spring morning at Pinnacles National Park

On this first return visit to Pinnacles National Park in about three decades — the last time I visited the place it was still called Pinnacles National Monument — I approached from the west through the small Salinas Valley town of Soledad, heading east into the low, grass-covered hills, ascending wooded valleys, and then passing through vineyard country where I had my first good views of the pinnacles. Until that point much of the drive did not bring back any memories, but that view was much as I remembered. I continued a bit further, passed the expected national park entrance sign, arrived at the kiosk, and went into the nearby ranger station to show my permit. This faculty seemed new to me, and it certainly had not been there years back when we simply drove up the end of the road and camped. This time I got back on the road and continued toward the end of the road.

One expects to simply ascend to the end of this road, but the route surprised me by descending into the valley where that old campground (now gone over twenty years) was once located. Along this descent the road passed by the beautiful California “impossible green” spring landscape of new grass, budding trees, and a few wildflowers. At one point the road turned to the right and descended, and in front of me was a high ridge with back-light flowing over its summit and striking the trees from behind. Those who know me know that I’m completely unable to resist back-lit trees, so I pulled over and paused to make a few photographs before continuing the short distance to the trailhead.

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

Light on Granite Slabs

March 8, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

First light reflects on smooth granite slabs, Yosemite Valley

These smooth slabs of granite are at the base of Glacier Point, wrapping around it and roughly following the contours of the Merced River’s path as it rises toward Vernal and Nevada Falls and the High Sierra far beyond. I love large expanses of smooth granite, but the curving quality of this stretch is special and different from most other cliff faces in the Valley.

I had looked at this face the previous morning but did not photograph it, so on this second morning I headed straight out to a spot where I thought I might get a clear view as the first light come over higher ridges to the east and flowed across the granite. We can regard this as an interpretation of the scene, as the granite is perhaps not this dark — but brilliant sunlight reflections, enhanced by snow patches and melting water, made portions of the scene incredibly bright.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Winter Oak, Cliff

Dense Brush, Morning Light

Trees, Morning Light

Light on Granite Slabs

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