Tag Archives: mariposa

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

Green Hills, Rose Light

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Green Hills, Rose Light - Subtle colors illuminate a ridge top and sunset clouds in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California.
Subtle colors illuminate a ridge top and sunset clouds in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California.

Green Hills, Rose Light. Sierra Nevada Foothills, California. April 15, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Subtle colors illuminate a ridge top and sunset clouds in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California.

This is yet another virtual “happy accident” photograph. I posted a different version of it earlier, but it may have been long enough that I can tell the story again. I had been in Yosemite Valley and surrounding areas for the day, and late in the afternoon I left The Valley to head into Merced Canyon where the redbud and California Golden Poppies were blooming. The plan was to get into the canyon while there was still sun in the sky but at a time when lengthening shadows would bring some soft light to various deeper/steeper sections of the canyon. So I shot there until a bit less than an hour before sunset and then decided to head on home, starting the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay Area.

I headed down the canyon, still unable to completely stop looking at the newly green grasses, the plants that were starting to leaf out, and the profusion of purple redbud blossoms and bright orange California Poppies spreading up some of the steep hillsides. But as beautiful as much of this was, I wasn’t seeing photographs in it, so I continued on. Soon I reached Briceburg, where the road leaves the Merced and climbs steeply as it heads toward Mariposa. Climbing this steep section I continued to glance back over my shoulder at the green, chaparral-coverd ridges behind me and the clouds above them that were beginning to pick up a bit of sunset color. As I neared the top of the climb I almost kept going – doing the internal debate between it might make an interesting photograph and I’m hungry and I want to start home! – I passed a photographer set up beside the road, and I quickly recognized him as a friend. Now I had no choice but to stop, so I did a u-turn at the first turnout and headed back down the hill to where he and his wife were. I grabbed my gear, said “hi” as I set up, and figured that I might as well make a few final exposures of the delicately colored sky and the subtle tones that the last light imparted to the upper ridges.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Foothills, Evening

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Sierra Foothills, Evening - Subtle evening light gently colors the chaparral-covered hills of the Sierra Nevada foothills on a spring evening, California.
Subtle evening light gently colors the chaparral-covered hills of the Sierra Nevada foothills on a spring evening, California.

Sierra Foothills, Evening. Mariposa County, California. April 15, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Subtle evening light gently colors the chaparral-covered hills of the Sierra Nevada foothills on a spring evening, California.

I’m going to take a brief break from posting photographs from my early April week in Utah and post one or more recent photographs from here in California. This past weekend I found time (and the right weather, or so I thought) to make a very quick one-day run up to Yosemite and back. My main goal was to photograph wildflowers in the Merced River Canyon, where lots of interesting color starts to appear about this time each year. Although there was some real concern about how the wildflowers might develop this year, given the serious drought in much of California, some late-season rains and other factors seem to have jump-started some really interesting displays. In Merced Canyon there are lots of wonderful wildflowers and other things, but I was especially interested in California poppies (which, actually, are found throughout much of the state right now) and the blooming redbud plants.

My day didn’t go quite as planned. I was sort of hoping to run into a bunch of other photographs who were likely to be in the canyon as well, but a series of decisions on my part caused me to end up in different places than where they went. After shooting into mid-morning in the Merced Canyon I decided to make a quick trip into Yosemite Valley, but not too long after I arrived there some clouds began to roll in. Clouds can be wonderful in and around the Valley – and I actually managed to use them in some other photographs I’ll share later – but this was still not quite what I was originally looking for. Very late in the afternoon I did a bit of final shooting in and around the Valley, and then I decided to head back down into Merced Canyon before the light was completely gone. I made a few photographs of redbud and California poppies, but it seemed like my day for photography was coming to an end, so I packed up and started my long trek back to the Bay Area. Near the top of the steep climb out of Briceburg I started to notice some interesting light on the spring-green ridges to my right and behind me, and then I spotted a familiar-looking figure alongside the road with a tripod and camera. At this point I had to stop, to say “hi” to my friends if for no other reason! Then I saw this lovely and subtle light on the ridge – the cloud-muted light from the setting sun was washing the clouds with a gentle pink light, and its glow was adding warm colors to the green chaparral near the summit ridge… and a moment later this light was gone.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Commentary, Locations

The Impossible Trip: Yosemite in Seven Hours?

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That was the question that someone posed today in a photography forum I read:

We will be visiting Yosemite for approximately 7-8 hours one day the 2nd week of October as part of a weeklong trip to Tahoe (we live on the East Coast). I have been to Yosemite before (many years ago), she has not. Although we know it would take much more time to truly experience Yosemite this is the maximum time we can spend so we are looking for the top spots so we can make the most of the short time we have there.

(There was a bit more that I haven’t included here – the poster also would be staying in Mariposa the night before, and needed to drive across Tioga Pass and be in Tahoe that evening… and wanted to do photography along the way!)

Having visited the park for decades, and for an amount of time perhaps totaling well over a year altogether, and still getting to know the place, my first reaction was to ignore the question or respond with a wise-crack one-liner. Frankly, I don’t think it is really possible to do real photography of “the park” during a seven-hour visit. (With careful planning it would be possible to photograph a subject or two perhaps, but that is a different issue.) In any case, I suppressed my instinct to respond along the lines of “are you kidding!?” and instead tried to provide a realistic outline of what this experience might entail. While I’m spoiled, living only hours from the park, I do understand that others may find themselves in the area and not want to miss at least having a brief experience with such a place. And perhaps the way-too-brief visit might be enough to encourage such visitors to find a way to return for a longer visit.

So, with all of that in mind, here is what I wrote, slightly modified for this post:

You are asking quite a lot here… for a seven hour visit that will include at least 3-4 hours of driving… from Mariposa, into and around the Valley, and then up and over Tioga Pass… plus leaving enough time for the remaining hours-long drive to Tahoe.

Too bad, I’m afraid.

To be honest, the odds that you’ll be able to do much beyond “record-my-quick-visit” photography in the park are slender given the amount of time you’ll be there, your tight schedule, and the fact that you’ll be there mostly during the “blah light” time of day. To some extent, I’m inclined to recommend that you not make photography your primary goal – one reason being that trying to “get those photographs” will distract you even more from you brief opportunity to actually see and experience the place a bit. I photograph in the park frequently, so I know where and how to shoot, and I would not try to do real photography under the conditions you describe.

Having said all of that, the broad outlines of your visit must be: Continue reading The Impossible Trip: Yosemite in Seven Hours? →

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

Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning

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Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning
Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning

Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of backlit Half Dome framed by steep Yosemite Valley canyon walls including the face of El Capitan.

Allow me one more photograph in the recent sequence of black and white photographs of “Yosemite icons.” On most drives into and out of the Valley I stop and look at this scene and frequently try to photograph it if the conditions are special. In the morning there is often haze here, and this creates an effect of atmospheric recession from the half dozen or so layers in the scene. It is a tricky thing – a bit too much haze and the details of forest and rock can become almost invisible; too little haze and the contrast between brightly lit highlights (like the patch of snow on Half Dome) and the deep shadows can become quite stark. The image I have in mind includes the effect of atmosphere-highlighted distance, the effect of back-lighting on the trees (most obvious here perhaps at the lower left), and the abstract nature of the different intersecting slopes and faces.

A technical note: I used the Canon 5D2 with the EF 100-400mm zoom at 365mm to make this photograph. Some doubt that a zoom like this can produce enough resolution, but at full size I can just barely make out a couple people on the snow bank atop Half Dome. Sharp enough for me!

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 365mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/400 second

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