Tag Archives: morning

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

Trees in Morning Sun

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Trees in Morning Sun
Silhouetted trees in brilliant morning sunlight along the shore of a Yosemite Wilderness lake.

Trees in Morning Sun. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Silhouetted trees in brilliant morning sunlight along the shore of a Yosemite Wilderness lake.

This is another photograph from the Sierra Nevada that seems place-specific only in the most general sense. You can find similar scenes of trees and boulders along the edge of countless lakes and ponds in the range. If you explore them in the early morning or late in the day you are bound to end up looking into this brilliant light and perhaps shielding your eyes in the shadows of one of the trees.

This particular scene is in the Yosemite backcountry at just such a lake — a moderate-sized body of water nestled among trees interspersed with the ubiquitous granite boulders left behind by glacial action. It can produce a complex and detailed scene, but one with a definite sense of order once you see it. Beyond the physical reality of such places, I always thing of the sensations that accompany a walk through this terrain — the careful steps over and around boulders, climbing over the fallen snags, the contrast between cool air and intense sunlight, and perhaps the sound of water along the shore.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Mountain Lake, First Light

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Mountain Lake, First Light
First light touches the top of a ridge under deep blue sky reflected in the surface of a wilderness lake, Yosemite.

Mountain Lake, First Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light touches the top of a ridge under deep blue sky reflected in the surface of a wilderness lake, Yosemite.

This Yosemite backcountry lake fall just short of having one of my favorite mountain lake features — having more than one outlet stream. I know of a few, including one I have visited that drains on both sides of the Sierra crest. This one isn’t on the crest, instead sitting in a shallow bowl near the upper edge of the sides of a great canyon, surrounded by gently rocky terrain and forest. The actual outlet stream (directly left of my camera position) is far less dramatic than the “almost-an-infinity-pool” outlet seen here.

Beyond the low ridge with the central tree in this photograph lies one of the great river canyons of the western Sierra Nevada. Like all of them, it eventually drains toward the Great Central Valley and then to the Pacific via San Francisco Bay. (Well, except for the not insignificant portions of the flow that are diverted these days.) Because this location is on the edge of that canyon and faces to the west, there are no taller peaks or ridges between it and the Valley and the Coast Range. I photographed this scene as the first sun was beginning to strike the ridge along that far side and early enough that the water was completely still.

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: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Morning, Caffe Trieste

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Morning, Caffe Trieste
Patrons in line for coffee at Caffe Trieste, San Francisco.

Morning, Caffe Trieste. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patrons in line for coffee at Caffe Trieste, San Francisco.

Last week I spend considerable time in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. I’m a member of Studio Nocturne a group of night photographers (descended from “The Nocturnes”) who have been photographing and exhibiting together for decades. Every fall we do an “open studio” as part of The City’s Artspan Open Studio event. This year we were in the Live Worms Gallery on Grant in North Beach. We’ve been in various locations over the years, and I think this may have been one of the best spots we’ve used — lots of foot traffic, lots of places nearby to eat and drink, great atmosphere. (Terrible parking though!)

Each day I arrived an hour or so before we opened, and on the last day, Sunday, I headed a half block up Grant to this famous espresso shop. You might not know it if you just dropped in on a Sunday morning, like I did, but this is a somewhat historic location in San Francisco. In addition to being a meeting place for all sorts of interesting folks for years, it was the first espresso bar on the West Coast.

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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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

Islands, Wilderness Lake

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Islands, Wilderness Lake
Rocky islands with trees at a small wilderness lake in the Yosemite backcountry.

Islands, Wilderness Lake. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky islands with trees at a small wilderness lake in the Yosemite backcountry.

This photograph is almost a companion to the photograph I shared yesterday — same lake, same morning, similar subject, different trees, and islands instead of a peninsula this time. Once again, though, the trees on the islands and ascending the granite slopes beyond are illuminated by beautiful morning Sierra Nevada back light. To those familiar with the Sierra, this scene likely speaks of many things, but perhaps two in particular. First, is the nature of the forest — different from in many other locations, largely due to its generally more open character. (Some have proposed that the “Range of Light” name may be partially on account of this aspect of the Sierra experience.) Second, and perhaps a bit less obvious at first glance, is the evidence of glaciation. This lake was almost certainly scooped out by those forces, and the dome-like slopes beyond also suggest glacial sculpting.

As I have mentioned as recently as my previous post, I love photographing Sierra subjects — especially trees — in backlight, especially if a there is a bit of haze to produce a sense of distance between foreground and back ground and a bit of “glow” in the atmosphere. This kind of light can extend the hours for photography since it often works even when the early and late golden hour light is not present.

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 | 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.