Tag Archives: mount

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

Dawn, Pond and Mountains

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Dawn, Pond and Mountains
“Dawn, Pond and Mountains” — Sunrise light strikes Sierra Crest peaks and is reflected in the surface of a subalpine pond.

I recently spent a few days backpacking with long-time friends and few new friends. We headed into the mountains just east of Yosemite and the Sierra crest, spending days in a high place — we were just above 10,000′ the entire time. We camped near this pond, so I was up before dawn to be here for the sunrise show as the first light appeared on the high peaks to our east.

Traveling in the backcountry with non-photographers is always a different experience. During the past few decades I have mostly backpacked by myself or else gone out with other photographers. We photographers have our odd rituals: up in the darkness, breakfast at mid-morning, dinner before the good evening light, then out to photograph and not back until dark. Sometimes I wonder if the others think I’m some kind of ghost.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist

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Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist
“Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist” — Morning mist rises from a subalpine meadow with trees in the foreground and peaks in the distance.

For a few days in early July I had this usually-crowded Yosemite location almost to myself. The nearby high-country campground was not yet open, and entry-restrictions to the park reduced the number of visitors. I camped just outside the park’s boundaries, and I entered in the mornings before sunrise — there was no line and I could get to my destinations quickly. On a couple of mornings the sunrise destination was this great subalpine meadow.

The meadow runs from east to west, so sunrise and sunset tend to send light down its length. I positioned myself near the west end on this morning, which meant that I was shooting nearly directly into that morning light. Here I placed a group of trees along the right side of the frame, to contrast the dark forms of their trunks and shadows with the lighter distant mountains, details muted by backlit haze.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Mountains, Meadow, and Morning Mist

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Mountains, Meadow, and Morning Mist
“Mountains, Meadow, and Morning Mist” — Ridges leading to Sierra Crest peaks tower above a meadow with rising morning mist.

Tuolumne Meadows runs roughly on an east-west axis along Tioga Pass Road. Consequently, sunrise and sunset light shine along its length. Standing at the west end in the morning the sun rises just left of Mount Dana in the summer. It takes a while for the sun to rise high enough to clear the peaks, but when it does the light is intense.

I made this photograph on such a morning. After photographing a different pre-dawn subject, I headed here with a vague plan to photograph meadow subjects. From this vantage point, the sun’s backlight across the great distances produces striking atmospheric recession on the layers of mountains and ridges between the Meadows and the Sierra Crest.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Storm Clouds

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Meadow, Storm Clouds
“Meadow, Storm Clouds” — Sunlight in a meadow as storm clouds build near the Sierra Nevada crest, Hoover Wilderness

After an absence from the Sierra during some 2023 international travel, I was anxious to get back up there again. Shortly after our return I headed to the mountains for a few days of high country camping and photography. By then it was late in the season and the first hints of cold-season weather fronts were arriving — there was “interesting weather” during much of my visit.

I made this photograph as I headed up a drainage in the Eastern Sierra along the western edge of Yosemite National Park. (The distant peaks mark the park’s boundary.) Clouds shrouded the peaks, and some light snow had fallen. The wind was blowing and cloud shadows moved rapidly across the landscape. I set up and waited, and made this photograph as light hit the meadows just in front of me and illuminated the distant 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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