Tag Archives: light

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

Twilight Moon

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Twilight Moon
Twilight moon over a Yosemite backcountry lake.

Twilight Moon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twilight moon over a Yosemite backcountry lake.

The last few hours of daylight and the first hour or so after sunset are prime times for landscape photography. (The same is true for the comparable hours around sunrise.) I am often surprised to find myself alone at this time of day, even when I’m photographing near large campgrounds. In the morning everyone is still zipped in their sleeping bags, and in the evening I suppose they are busy eating dinner. I occasionally want to head back into those campgrounds and tell people! But then I remember how much I enjoy the solitude at these extraordinary moments.

This photograph was made in the company of a group of folks, photographers all, who understand. We are out of our tents in pre-sunrise darkness, and we return to camp to attend to our needs for food and coffee hours later. We head out again in the late afternoon, and the last of us stumbles back into camp well after dark, navigating by the light of a headlamp. On this evening I had followed that pattern, doing a wide solo loop around this lake and photographing as the golden hour light came on, then continuing right through to the dusk hours when only a bit of the fading sunset color remained.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Islands, Wilderness Lake

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Islands, Wilderness Lake
Rocky islands with trees at a small wilderness lake in the Yosemite backcountry.

Islands, Wilderness Lake. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky islands with trees at a small wilderness lake in the Yosemite backcountry.

This photograph is almost a companion to the photograph I shared yesterday — same lake, same morning, similar subject, different trees, and islands instead of a peninsula this time. Once again, though, the trees on the islands and ascending the granite slopes beyond are illuminated by beautiful morning Sierra Nevada back light. To those familiar with the Sierra, this scene likely speaks of many things, but perhaps two in particular. First, is the nature of the forest — different from in many other locations, largely due to its generally more open character. (Some have proposed that the “Range of Light” name may be partially on account of this aspect of the Sierra experience.) Second, and perhaps a bit less obvious at first glance, is the evidence of glaciation. This lake was almost certainly scooped out by those forces, and the dome-like slopes beyond also suggest glacial sculpting.

As I have mentioned as recently as my previous post, I love photographing Sierra subjects — especially trees — in backlight, especially if a there is a bit of haze to produce a sense of distance between foreground and back ground and a bit of “glow” in the atmosphere. This kind of light can extend the hours for photography since it often works even when the early and late golden hour light is not present.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Rocky Peninsula, Wilderness Lake

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Rocky Peninsula, Wilderness Lake
Trees grow on a rocky peninsula extending into a Yosemite wilderness lake.

Rocky Peninsula, Wilderness Lake. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees grow on a rocky peninsula extending into a Yosemite wilderness lake.

By this point it is probably no secret that I’m a fan of almost any subject that gets backlit. That kind of light is high on my list of things I look for when I doing landscape photography, especially away from the golden hours times. When the light shines from behind trees, their needles and leaves can seem to glow and their color becomes more intense. (A few friends refer to this a “G Dan light,” but I know I’m not alone in this fascination with back light.)

I made this photograph at a Yosemite wilderness lake where we were camped for about a half of a week a few years ago. The scene was perhaps a bit less alpine than the terrain that I’m usually attracted to, but the gentle landscape of this spot grew on me as we spent time there and I explored it. At least twice a day, morning and evening, I wandered out to walk around the edges of this lake, becoming acquainted with its features and the various ways that the light changed throughout the day.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Dome, Last Light

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Dome, Last Light
The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

Dome, Last Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

If your experience with the natural world comes largely from watching media about the experiences of those who travel there… it is possible that your perception is skewed in ways that do not quite correspond to reality. Based on what you’ll sometimes see, you could end up thinking that the wilderness is a wild, thrill-a-minute place full of dangerous animals, daring hikes along edges of cliffs and more — all with exciting, bigger-than-life narration and dramatic musical accompaniment. I admit to occasionally falling (happily) for such illusions, but the reality is a lot different. Most of the time little happens. It is quiet. You are alone with your thoughts. There is time and space to just ponder.

The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — as this scene does — from the end of a backcountry season, it can be even quieter and meditative. As a photographer, the last few hours of the day are often busy times as we “work the light” before it is gone. But inevitably, the light eventually fades, and I’m often left standing quietly and just… looking.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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