Tag Archives: meadow

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Beaver Pond, McGee Creek

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Beaver Pond, McGee Creek - A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.
A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.

Beaver Pond, McGee Creek. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 16, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.

Unlike some so-called beaver ponds in the Sierra, this one really does appear to be the home  of beavers. If you look closely near the far bank of the pond, just left of center, you can see the distinctive peaked beaver den.

This spot was a bit of a landmark on the trail up McGee Canyon on my mid-September backpack trip to Steelhead Lake. Before this the trail mostly crossed relatively dry and open terrain, but starting at this point there was more forest cover, and the valley gradually began to become more rocky and narrower. There is just a bit of early fall color in this photograph. The plants around the pond have obviously gone brown, and  some of the aspens and other brush ascending the slopes of the canyon are just barely beginning to change – what I sometimes call the “lime green” stage where it starts to become clear that the real color change is not far away. The distant tall ridge marks the boundary between the McGee Creek drainage and Pioneer Basin. I’m not positive, but I think that the two high points on the ridge might be Mounts Stanford and Crocker,  part of a group of four peaks ringing Pioneer Basin that are named after the four “railroad barons, the other two being Huntington and Hopkins.

Unlike most of my mountain photographs, this was essentially a handheld “snap” – though made with a good camera and lens. When I’m hiking I carry my camera and two lenses in a chest strap mounted front carrier so that I can make some photographs while on the move without having to remove my pack. This sort of shot, made at a time of less than optimum light, is an example of the sort of thing that I’ll occasionally shoot that way.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range

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Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range - Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.
Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Yet more golden pre-autumnal light in the Yosemite Sierra! The scene is one of the many areas of subalpine meadow bordered (and sometimes being invaded by) forest trees found throughout the higher regions of Yosemite National Park. This particular bit of hilly and meadowy terrain was easier to access at the end of this dry season as the stream I crossed to get to this spot was very low. I shot during the last hour of the day as the sun angle became quite low, casting foreground shadows and softening details of more distant features in the seasonal haze.

The distant ridge is the Cathedral Range, with the iconic form of Cathedral Peak silhouetted at the far right. This was the kind of day that most often comes to mind when I think of early fall in the high Sierra – though the actual start of autumn was about a week away when I made the photograph. The weather was relatively warm for this elevation, and it had been mostly sunny all day. The early evening was softened by the haze and the golden hour light accentuated the golden brown colors of the meadow grasses and plants. Something about this time of year seems quieter and more peaceful than the main summer season – I’m not sure if it is the passing of the explosive summer growth period, the slowing of creeks, something in the wind or the light, or simply the knowledge that summer is ending.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and Meadow, Morning

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Trees and Meadow, Morning - Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.
Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

Trees and Meadow, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

It is probably no secret that there are certain kinds of light that especially appeal to me. Among my favorite is early morning sunlight, shining through a bit of atmospheric haze, and illuminating trees. On top of that, I’m a big fan of the warm golden-brown tones of September and autumn in the Sierra. With all of that in mind, how could I resist this subject?

I was in Tuolumne Meadows for a couple of nights in mid-September, with two main goals in mind. First, I wanted to spend a few days at altitude before heading over to the east side to meet friends for a short pack trip up into McGee Canyon. Second – or perhaps this should be first – I wanted to do some photography in the area along Tioga Pass Road between roughly Olmsted Point and the pass itself. I arrived late the first day, with just enough time to set up camp, grab something to eat, and head out to shoot the evening light. I was up reasonably early the next morning and out and about looking for subjects before the sun came up. I decided to stick fairly close to the meadows this time, and after heading to the west end and looking back I saw this beautiful warm light coming across the meadow as the sun topped the crest near Mount Dana, and silhouetting a small group of tall trees at the meadow’s edge.

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: Ocean & Coast

Hills and Trees Near Limantour, Drakes Bay

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Hills and Trees Near Limantour, Drakes Bay - Soft sun light on trees and hills above Limantour Beach, as fog bank hovers over Drakes Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore.
Soft sun light on trees and hills above Limantour Beach, as fog bank hovers over Drakes Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore.

Hills and Trees Near Limantour, Drakes Bay. Point Reyes National Seashore, California. August 18,2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft sun light on trees and hills above Limantour Beach, as fog bank hovers over Drakes Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore.

Limantour Beach sits along the inner curve of Drakes Bay at the Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco, California, and the area is one of the best-known and most visited in the park. On certain days, the air is clear and the sun is bright and the beach can be warm, and the view includes not only the nearby wildlife and the surf, but the peninsula leading to the tip of Point Reyes and the coast stretching south towards the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate. One of the first times I visited this place to make photographs it was one of those clear days, and I recall photographing the curve of the Bay leading to the right with the beach and some birds in the foreground. I’ve carried a mental images of how I would like to improve that photograph, and it was with that in mind that I went to Limantour this time.

The weather did not cooperate with that plan. After crossing the ridge between Tomales Bay and Limantour, I could see right away that there was going to be fog along the beach. The shoreline edge of the water still reflected blue sky in a few spots a bit to the south, but at Limantour the fog came a good distance inland from the beach. So as I drove down toward the end of the road, I started looking for some spot that would let me photograph the rounded, grass-covered hills and the bits of forest in sunlight, with the Bay and its fog in the distance. Finding a spot that included all of these things and which made some visual sense was not easy, but with a bit of back-tracking I finally found this spot and made a few exposures.

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.