Tag Archives: merced

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

Cottonwood Trees, Reflection

November 25, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cottonwood trees with fall foliage reflected in the Merced River

Believe it or not, this is the mighty Merced River, draining a vast section of the Yosemite High Sierra that extends all the way to the highest peaks of this section of the Sierra crest. On this late October afternoon, on a dry day during a dry month at the end of the second of two drought years in the Sierra, the river felt in many ways more like a creek. The water moved slowly, gently rippling over rocks in the shallow sections and pooling in the deeper areas where the movement of the water was almost invisible. The contrast between this scene and what the river can do is apparent when your realize that these trees could be standing in very deep water during the peak runoff floods of a wet year.

I had wandered out to this relatively accessible location in the afternoon, drawn by the golden cottonwood trees that were approaching their peak autumn color, the brilliant fall backlight from the low afternoon sun down the Valley to the west, the shadowed granite face beyond, and the possibility of using the river as an element in photographs. I was apparently not the only person with this idea, and when I arrived I found perhaps a half-dozen painters occupying strategic spots on gravel bars, the beach, and along the banks. I made some photographs that included these artists, but I also contrived to exclude them from some of the compositions, including this one that brought together all of those elements that I came here to find.

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

Merced River Boulder, Autumn

November 21, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A large boulder is exposed by low autumn water levels in the Merced River

On the final two days of October this year, I did what I often do at this time of year – make a visit to Yosemite Valley to photograph fall colors. As is the case with fall colors in many places in the west, the transition seemed to come a little earlier than usual, and this might have been just a bit too late for some colors (big leaf maples) and perhaps a bit early for others (cottonwoods) but overall a fine time to be in the Valley. (This season was a bit strange in many places in the west, including many where I often photograph. For example, the arrival of the fall aspen color was early, though it did hang on for a good long time.)

This scene along the Merced River says “autumn” in ways that are both obvious to anyone and perhaps less so unless you know the Valley a bit. In the obvious category are the colors of trees along the banks of the river, mostly big leaf maple and oak in this photograph. Other aspects include the very low water level and the quiet flow of the river. In the spring this section of the Merced can be a wild flood of snow melt runoff that rises toward the top of the large boulder – but so late in the season, especially in a very dry year like this one – the river has a much gentler and quieter personality. The light is also different – with the low sun angle there is no direct light at the bottom of the canyon here and none on the section of valley wall visible in the distance. The atmosphere has some of the same feeling that the river has – a bit hazy, little air movement, and at times a softer quality of light.

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

Merced River, Forest, Autumn

November 13, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Colorful autumn trees among burned forest and reflected in the water of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

This is, in several ways, a “quieter” photograph than some that I have posted recently. The location is along a section of the Merced River in Yosemite Valley that is probably not really seen by more than a handful of people, if that, on any given day.The spot is not special enough, if specialness is definable, to warrant its own particular name. (However, a few people do have a name for it – but it isn’t really to be shared here.) So the scene itself was, objectively speaking, quiet – the only others around were a couple of photographer friends working individually nearby, there was no wind, the river was as calm and quiet as I recall seeing it – barely even flowing, and almost nothing was moving in the forests along its banks.

There was another kind of quiet, too – the mental quiet that I often look for while photographing, especially in places like this. It is easy to let my mind wander – is this the right place to stop? should I check email before leaving the car? is there anything here that will make a great photograph? might it be easier to shoot someplace more predictably beautiful? what if I can’t find anything to shoot? Leaving my car behind and shouldering my tripod and bag of gear, I walked down to the river bank and began looking. My notions about what I might photograph are not so important – being open to what I might find to photograph is. When you first begin to photograph, it can sometimes take a long time to get into the frame of mind that allows you to slow down and become engrossed by what you see, to the point that you lose track of time and even where you are, focusing entirely on the seeing and the photographing. Eventually, I think you can learn to let this happen more quickly – not that it always does – and to avoid the trap of trying too hard to steer the process and to instead be quiet and open to what you see. And so, thinking back on this evening, as I made my last photographs before heading home, I recall the sense of quiet focus as much as the objective features of the scene itself.

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

Autumn Afternoon, Merced River Cottonwood Trees

November 7, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Hazy autumn afternoon light on golden cottonwood trees growing along the banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

As I try to do every fall, I visited Yosemite Valley for a few days right at the end of October so that I could photograph fall color and other seasonal subjects. I typically target my visits for near the end of the last week of the month, since at about this time the cottonwood, big leaf maple, black oak, and dogwood trees can produce beautiful colors and the meadows turn wonderful shades of tan and brown and gold. There are other benefits to visiting at this time of year, too – far fewer people, cooler temperatures, availability of campsites, and I often run into friends and other interesting people in the Valley.

I’m a big fan of backlit trees, and I have shot in this area of meadows and cottonwood trees and river bank many times before. In the afternoon the light begins to come into the valley from the low sun in the west and while trees can be backlit, some of the granite cliffs are already in shadow. If there is a bit of atmospheric haze, I like it even more! On this afternoon I decided to poke around along the banks of the Merced in this area where it flows through a series of bends among meadows and forest – and there were backlit cottonwood trees galore to work with!

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: merced

Cottonwood Trees, Reflection

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Merced River Boulder, Autumn

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Merced River, Forest, Autumn

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Autumn Afternoon, Merced River Cottonwood Trees

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.