Tag Archives: mammoth

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

Tioga Lake, Late Spring

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Tioga Lake, Late Spring
Tioga Lake, Late Spring

Tioga Lake, Late Spring. Near Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late spring at icebound Tioga Lake below Tioga Pass with Mammoth Peak and the Kuna Crest beyond in afternoon light.

I made and shared a slightly different photograph of this scene last summer, but when I did my annual end-of-year traverse of the year’s raw files I returned to the original set of images and wondered how I missed this one. In a lot of ways it is similar to the one I selected earlier, though the foreground light and shadow patterns are a bit different and, more importantly, I like the position of the clouds in this one more than what I had in the original. So, there are now two versions of this scene floating around…

After several fairly dry years in California, the winter of 2009-10 produced much more precipitation, as rain in the lowlands and as snowpack in the Sierra. Because of the heavier snow, Tioga Pass opened just a bit later than average, and when it opened there was still a lot of snow in the high country. Since this afforded a rare chance to cross the Yosemite Sierra in conditions not usually seen by drivers I made it a point to get up there as soon as the road opened.

On the drive there was snow along almost the entire length of Tioga Pass Road, and in many places it looked more like winter than like spring. At the same time, it was spring, and the melting of the snowpack was fully underway. While lakes like Tioga Lake, as seen in this photograph, were still ice-covered… the ice was thinning quickly, and everywhere the melting snow was creating creeks and cascades. The high country, especially at the elevation of the road, was filling with water – water in ponds, water in overflowing lakes, water in rivers, water in cascades and waterfalls. I was waterfalls along the road in places where I had not even suspected that there were creeks!

This photograph shows Tioga Lake, just east of and below Tioga Pass, the eastern entrance to Yosemite. The pass itself is in the low saddle just above the meadow ascending the hill at the end of the lake. Beyond, and inside the park, is massive Kuna Crest with white, snow-capped Mammoth Peak in full sun at the right end of the ridge.

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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.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison

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Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison.
“Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison” — Morning fog rises above Hot Creek with the Sierra crest and Mount Morrison in the distance.

Finding this shot was just about as random a process as I can imagine. I was in the eastern Sierra to photograph aspens, and staying in Mammoth Lakes. I woke up very early without a really solid idea of where I’d shoot that morning, but started out heading for Rock Creek, where I had seen great aspen color a week earlier. As I left Mammoth and headed south on highway 395 I noticed low fog out in Owens Valley – Crowley Lake was pretty much covered and it appeared that there were bits of fog here and there above creeks and springs in the valley. This started to look more interesting to me than photographing aspens again, so I changed plans and headed out into Owens Valley, not knowing precisely where or what I might find but thinking it would involve fog and mist and early morning light.

I first stopped and photographed near a small pond along side the road. After shooting here a bit – mostly shots pointing back toward the Sierra crest – I recalled that I had been on some gravel roads a bit further north of my position, and I decided to do a bit of exploring. I turned off on the first road going north and followed it until I found another interesting road that dropped down into a small valley and crossed a creek on an old rickety bridge – I later figured out that this was Hot Creek. A cloud of mist and fog was lying above the path of the creek, periodically thickening and thinning, and because it was not deep the morning sun was still somewhat lighting the scene through the fog. At times the peaks of the Sierra crest would gradually resolve through the fog. I set up and waited and made some exposures as the fog rose and fell, increased and decreased.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Sierra Nevada, Alkali Lake, Dawn

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Eastern Sierra Nevada, Alkali Lake, Dawn
Eastern Sierra Nevada, Alkali Lake, Dawn

Eastern Sierra Nevada, Alkali Lake, Dawn. Owens Valley, California. October 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow-dusted peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada near Mammoth Lakes illuminated by dawn light and reflected in the surface of an Owens Valley alkali lake.

I like to stay flexible when I photograph so even though my original reason for traveling to the eastern Sierra was to photograph fall aspen color, when it seemed that other subjects might be just as interesting I switched gears and headed out into Owens Valley to photograph this high desert region and the morning views from there of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. I first got this idea the previous morning while driving towards some prospective aspen color before dawn when I saw the outlines of fog over Crowley Lake and other areas of the valley. I ended up shooting along Hot Creek as fog rose from the water and the Sierra crest broke through in the distance. (Photos of that scene will likely appear here later on.) On my way to Hot Creek I passed this lake and decided not to stop since it looked like photography workshop participants were already crowded along one shore.

The next morning I once again thought that I’d start my day out in Owens Valley. This time I went straight to this lake – which I believe is known as “Little Alkali Lake” – and found it completely deserted and the water totally still. It remained that way as I made my way to the far shore and set up before sunrise. In this part of Owens Valley, on cold mornings there are clouds and columns of steam rising all around, coming from the many hot springs that remind one of the volcanic forces hidden just below the surface of this area. Some of the steam sources are visible across the lake in the photograph. Soon the dawn light began to touch the highest peaks and then work its way down toward the rolling hills of the valley floor, reflected in the smooth water of this small lake. This part of the Sierra includes an impressive group of peaks including Mounts Morrison, Baldwin, and Morgan along with McGee Mountain.

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

Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows

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Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows
Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows

Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 22, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Young lodgpole pines grow in front of a Dana Meadows pond as Mammoth Peak looms in the distance.

Late in July of this somewhat wet year, the portion of Dana Meadows that extends almost up to the top of Tioga Pass was still very green and a bit wet, with small streams flowing through it and seasonal tarns still full. Being careful to avoid the boggy spots, I wandered down in to this section of the meadow near where the old roadbed is still visible and found small ponds and young trees trying to infiltrate the meadow. Here the pond reflects clouds floating towards Mammoth Peak, the high point at the end of Kuna Crest, on the other side of which is found the Lyell fork of the Tuolumne River.

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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