Tag Archives: morning

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Solitary Tree, Morning

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Solitary Tree, Morning
A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

Solitary Tree, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

One of my favorite places to wander on our recent Sierra backcountry visit — with a group of photographer friends back in August — was an area of creeks and boulder-strewn meadows and small trees that led from near our camp toward the alpine country below barren ridges. Once the nearby creek’s flow diminished following some heavy rainfall, I spent a couple of mornings wandering through this terrain and photographing.

I timed my visits so that the sun would rise after I had gotten a little ways into this area, at about the time that the first sun would strike the trees. On this morning I paused in a meadow that was open to the east, and as the first sun arrived it produced lovely backlight on this tree, set against high and rugged country running up toward a much higher ridge.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Three Trees, Rocky Slopes

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Three Trees, Rocky Slopes
The conifer trees, illuminated by morning backlight, against a background of rocky terrain slopes.

Three Trees, Rocky Slopes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Three conifer trees, illuminated by morning backlight, against a background of rocky terrain slopes.

Our August backcountry sojourn with a group of fellow photographers began with the absolute heaviest downpour I have experienced during decades the Sierras. It began within seconds after we got our tent (mostly) up and continued for hours, on into the evening. We all crawled inside our tents and tried to stay dry and warm as hail and rain poured down, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and the roar of the rising waters on the nearby creek started to get our attention. The weather remained “interesting” on into the second day, only beginning to finally clear a bit on the second evening. But the next morning came with a beautiful sunrise and plentiful sun — and that is when I made this photograph.

This group of three trees stood on rocky ground, and because of that they were not blocked by other trees. As the morning sun rose it finally topped a ridge to the east and the light began to strike the trees. This kind of backlight, especially when it falls on trees, is one of my favorite things in the Sierra. So it should be no surprise that I made a series of photographs of this group, some in landscape orientation and some in portrait orientation. In this one I chose to let the glowing trees fill as much of the frame as possible.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Forest and Peaks, Morning Light

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Forest and Peaks, Morning Light
Morning light on high peaks and forest trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Forest and Peaks, Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on high peaks and forest trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

My original plan was to post a photograph today from Manhattan — one of my street photography images from a recent visit to New York and surrounding areas. But on a morning when temperatures here are projected to reach 108 degrees (and much higher in other nearby California areas) it seems appropriate to instead share another photograph of a cool mountain scene. Right now I would make some pretty big sacrifices to be back in this place on a day like the one when I made the photograph!

I had left our base camp before sunrise to head up the higher country via an improvised route that crossed a few small streams before following lovely meadows up toward an impressive mountain ridge. (This may look like the crest of the Sierra, but here there are extremely high peaks west of the actual crest.) It was truly a lovely morning. Before long the first sunlight lit the highest peaks, and I stopped to make this photograph as the light arrived on section of forest between the meadows. I continued on up to a small lake in the alpine basin below the peaks.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Lake, Ridges, Morning LIght

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Lake, Ridges, Morning LIght
Ridges recede in hazy monring light beyond the outlet of a subalpine lake.

Lake, Ridges, Morning LIght. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Ridges recede in hazy monring light beyond the outlet of a subalpine lake.

A short morning walk up a hill from our campsite took us to this view every day during our August Sierra backcountry sojourn, at least if we decided to start out walking in that direction. (The evening view wasn’t bad either!) The scene had quite a variable personality. One night it featured blood red skies as a storm cleared, on another morning a fog cloud briefly nestled in the valley just beyond the outlet, and on this morning the general haziness produced by California wildfires glowed in the early light.

The outlets of most Sierra lakes are a bit less dramatic than this one, but here the bowl containing the lake pinches off to a very narrow canyon through which the stream exits, flowing down a lengthy valley toward a larger river far below. Various formations rise along that valley, and their silhouettes emphasize the distances looking east and down the canyon.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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