Tag Archives: mist

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Conifers, Snow, Cliff

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Conifers, Snow, Cliff
A group of conifer trees at the edge of a meadow during Yosemite Valley snow flurries

Conifers, Snow, Cliff. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of conifer trees at the edge of a meadow during Yosemite Valley snow flurries

During the two-plus months of my Yosemite Renaissance artist-in-residency in the park I made hundreds of photographs. Some of those made it into a show that is now going on at Gallery 5 in Oakhurst, on the southern park boundary: “Transitions: Winter Into Spring — Yosemite Renaissance Artist-In-Residence G Dan Mitchell And Friends.” (The show continues until the end of this month, and it features the work of several fellow artists I invited to join me: Jerry Bosworth, Franka Mlikota Gabler, Charlotte Hamilton Gib, David Hoffman, Vidya Kane, and Kerby Smith.) I mention this because I am still working on photographs from this project even now — and this is one of them.

I made this photograph on a mid-April day when winter seemed to want to hang on just a bit longer. Near the start of this visit a small but energetic weather front swept through, raising the wind, dropping the temperature, and leaving behind a layer of new snow. I made this photograph as the storm passed, with snow flurries muting the features of more distant trees and the huge granite cliffs beyond. The snow also mutes the colors, and unless you look closely you might mistake this for a monochromatic photograph.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Klamath Coastline

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Klamath Coastline
Mist and fog along the rugged Northern California shoreline near the Klamath River

Klamath Coastline. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mist and fog along the rugged Northern California shoreline near the Klamath River

On the final day of my recent photography trip to Redwood National and State Parks I spent the morning photographing at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park before packing up and starting my drive south. My plan was to split the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay Area into two parts. On this first day of the return trip I would head south through more redwood country, drop to the coast above Fort Bragg, and then spend the night there before heading home the next morning.

I left Prairie Creek – somewhat reluctantly, since it deserved more time — and heading south on highway one. If you have driven almost any part of this remarkable route you know that there are photographs everywhere, not just in the parks, so I planned to stop along the way to make photographs. The route often alternately rises to cross coastal bluffs and ridges and then drops right down to the shoreline. At or just below the high points I can often find panoramic views up and down the coast, and this was one of the first such views that I stopped for. The light was subdued — hence the decision to go with a monochrome rendition — but the atmosphere was remarkable, with the surf throwing up low mist clouds right along the shoreline and the remnants of fog muting the distant features.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak Trees, Spring Snow

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Oak Trees, Spring Snow
Snow storm clouds obscure cliffs behind black oak trees

Oak Trees, Spring Snow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow storm clouds obscure cliffs behind black oak trees

I’ll continue by string of winter(-ish) photographs with another in what is getting close to the end of the new work I produced during my Yosemite Renaissance artist-in-residency this past winter and early spring. I always photograph in the park during these seasons, but this year’s residency provided me with far more opportunities — ranging from utterly freezing winter snow storm days to the sunny and warm early days of spring.

I made this photograph on a spring day, believe it or not — one of those early spring days during the transition from the cold season toward the coming warm season when winter reasserts itself. A small snow storm was passing though Yosemite Valley, and it dropped a thin layer of snow down to this low elevation. Although this snow did not last long, while it fell the Valley was briefly transformed back into a winter landscape. When I think of winter in the Sierra, conifer trees tend to come to mind, so this scene with oak trees under a thin layer of snow was special, with dark trunks and branches set against the snow and cloud-filled sky and a muted view of Valley cliffs.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon

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Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon
Morning light on clearing clouds, Merced River Canyon and Lower Yosemite Valley

Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on clearing clouds, Merced River Canyon and Lower Yosemite Valley

Yes, another photograph in the “Bierstadt morning” series, as I’ve come to think of it. (Albert Bierstadt was a renowned 19th-century landscape painter whose work in Yosemite is famous. His paintings, while true to the subjective experience of the place, relied on enhanced effects of color, light, perspective, and atmosphere.) As I have written, this morning started cloudy and gray but quickly transformed into a marvel of clouds, mists, and light that continued well into the mid-morning hours.

I began photographing in a location overlooking the main valley, but then decided to head up to this area, where I was thinking of several possible subjects. As I watched the play of light and atmosphere I decided to forego some of the intimate landscape opportunities and intend go for this large-scale scene looking up the valley of the Merced River. Working from one of the more obvious spots in the park, I set up and spent an hour or so watching the constant transformations of the scene as clouds opened, light appeared and moved across the scene, fog came and went, and more.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.