Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

First Light, Tioga Meadows

August 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

The first morning light touches trees at the edge of Tioga Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

I always enjoy photographing the light at the edges of shadows as they move across the landscape early and late in the day, and I especially like the way that this light can gradually pick out subjects like these trees against a still-unlit background. With this in mind I was near Tioga Pass early in the morning as the light began to work its way down into Tioga Meadow as the sun rose above the ridges of Mounts Dana and Gibbs.

A bit of an ironic note: I was so focused on the light and the trees that I failed to notice that two deer were grazing in the scene until I began working on the photograph after returning home! If you look very closely you may be able to find one that is right at the shadow/sun edge, but I’d be surprised if anyone can find the second one.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: first, light, morning, tioga, meadows, pass, forest, mount, dana, lodgepole, tamarack, pine, deer, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, alpine, black and white, monochrome, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, shadow, hill, grove

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and Granite Slabs, Morning

August 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning backlight catches a group of lodgepole pine trees growing on a series of granite slabs in the high country of Yosemite National Park.

This photograph carries with it what almost amounts to a bit of embarrassment – of the “how did I not see this” category. I have driven past this spot literally scores of times, more likely hundreds of times, and not seen the possible photograph here. In fairness, it was not always at this particular time of day, and it is in a location where it would be natural to be distracted by other visual interests.

In any case, this series of granite slabs on a low dome-like feature is fairly typical of the Sierra high county of Yosemite, and I am always attracted to the combination of the widely separated trees and the glacially-formed granite slabs. Here I was also attracted to the way the main trees were set off against the muted tones of the distant ridge which is still in shadow at the early hour of the day.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: lodgepole, tamarack, pine, granite, dome, slab, benches, morning, light, haze, back, glacial, polish, ledge, forest, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, tioga, pass, road, tenaya, lake, highway, 120, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Building Below Bay Bridge

July 31, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A building beneath the west end of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, in foggy morning light.

If a troll lived beneath the west end of the Bay Bridge, this would be the building. ;-)

This block-shaped building with windows reflecting the light from thinning fog over the San Francisco Bay – across the Embarcadero – sits almost directly below the west anchorage of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, which you can see just a bit of near the very top of the frame. For me there is something appealing about the angular simplicity of this building with its rectangular windows divided into rectangular panes, and with almost no decorative touches at all.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

“Ublic” – Imaginary Landscape with Clouds

July 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

An imaginary landscape photographed in San Francisco.

It has been a while since I’ve posted an “imaginary landscape” photograph – so here goes. This is a single exposure, everything that appears in the frame was there when I made the exposure. Some significant post processing was done to this image, but it was not constructed in post.

Beyond that, I’ll leave it to your imagination to think about what is going on here.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 1/320 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, city, urban, sky, clouds, birds, billboard, wall, light, pole, pigeon, picture, imaginary, landscape, urban, ublic, blue, lamp

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