Tag Archives: mammal

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

Crouching Marmot

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Crouching Marmot
Crouching Marmot

Crouching Marmot. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marmot crouches on rocks at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, California.

Oh, no, not another marmot! Yes, another marmot. And I think I have at least one more to post before I’m done. Once again, this critter was hanging out in the rocks at Olmsted Point when I visited on my way across Tioga Pass on June 5, 2010.

I’d love to be able to say that I had to carefully stalk this marmot across the alpine tundra of the high Sierra, but that wouldn’t be true. First, it is really hard to closely approach marmots that are not accustomed to the presence of humans, and the back-country marmots tend to be fairly skittish. Second, I would not be carrying the lens that I used for this shot on back-country pack trips. The truth is that this critter is one of the many that hang out at Olmsted Point along Tioga Pass Road. These marmots won’t – fortunately! – eat out of your hand or anything like that, and they do retain some caution… but you can get relatively close to them. I was there on this day because it was the day that the pass was first opened for the season. The marmots almost seemed a bit bemused by all of the humans who showed up that day, and they also seemed to be enjoying a bit of late spring sun.

My approach to photographing them was pretty simple. I put a long lens on my camera – a 400mm telephoto – and found a comfortable spot below the rocks where they hang out. I waited quietly, and when they began to “come out to play,” I was able to photograph them from a decent distance and avoid spooking them.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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

Marmot and Rocks

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Marmot and Rocks
Marmot and Rocks

Marmot and Rocks. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marmot with a quizzical expression emerges from rocks at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, California.

Since it is a busy week and I have this photo sitting here on the computer, I have declared it another “furry mammal photograph day.” This is the third, and perhaps the last for now, of the marmot photographs I made at Olmsted Point on my early June trip over Tioga Pass Road. The marmots at Olmsted are quite used to human presence – and they better be since they live in rocks right below a very popular overlook and parking area. Although it wasn’t that busy on this day when the road first opened for the season, a month or two from now this will be a very popular place with Yosemite tourists.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/125 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, marmot, mammal, fur, alpine, animal, wildlife, nature, creature, face, quizzical, expression, eye, olmsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, tuolumne, meadows, california, usa, north america, stock

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

Marmot, Olmsted Point

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Marmot, Olmsted Point
Marmot, Olmsted Point

Marmot, Olmsted Point. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marmot emerges from rocks near Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park, California.

I’m going for two in a row of the furry animal shots. This marmot is among those who live in the rocks at Olmsted Point, the iconic roadside viewpoint just before Tenaya Lake along the Tioga Pass Road. I may have had my very first “marmot experience” at this very spot many years ago when my father took me and my brother camping at Tuolumne Meadows. After many intervening decades of real back-country travel, I might be a bit jaded about roadside marmots… but it was a kick to have a chance to photograph this marmot and its partner as they ducked in and out of the rocks below the parking lot.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 350mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, mammal, marmot, animal, wildlife, face, eyes, mouth, head, fur, nature, rock, olmsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, trans, california, usa, north america, alpine, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Sea Lions and Gulls, Sunset – Point Lobos

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Sea Lions and Gulls, Sunset - Point Lobos

Sea Lions and Gulls, Sunset – Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sea lions and gulls on offshore rocks at sunset in heavy surf – Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

As I photographed this group of offshore rocks in heavy surf near sunset, a group of gulls suddenly came into the scene and tried to land on the sea-lion-covered rocky island. The season beginning at about this time of year until early spring is my favorite for photographing the California coastline – the time when the great Pacific Ocean weather fronts roll through and bring huge surf conditions.

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.

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keywords: point, lobos, state, park, reserve, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big, sur, california, usa, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, shore, scenic, stock, travel, nature, gull, bird, fly, land, lion, marine, mammal, surf, wave, spray, wild, mist, reflection, sun, sunset, yellow, orange, light, foam, silhouette, beam, stock