Tag Archives: Mountain

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

Four Black Oaks in Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

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Four Black Oaks in Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

Four Black Oaks in Autumn, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four black oak trees with autumn colors in morning light, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, California.

This group of trees has achieved near-icon status, having been photographed many times in many ways in many seasons and in a wide variety of lighting conditions by many photographers. (Whew..) Several factors have perhaps led to them being photographed so often. First, the group has some very appealing features, especially their close spacing and the gentle curves of their forms along with their location in an area with a lot of surrounding empty space but still with interesting background further away. Secondly, and probably as a result of the previous factors, they have been photographed often enough that many people are familiar with wonderful photographs of the group by any of a number of well-known photographers. Finally, I cannot ignore the fact that they are only a few feet away from one a very popular place to pull off the road – in fact it is entirely possible to frame up an effective composition while standing next to your car!

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: fall, autumn, season, four, black, oak, tree, grove, trunk, branch, leaves, leaf, yellow, gold, brown, green, color, el capitan, meadow, cathedral, rocks, cliff, mountain, sierra, nevada, range, yosemite, valley, national, park, california, usa, scenic, travel, landscape, nature, forest, grass, shadow, silhouette, form, group, stock

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

Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky

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Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky

Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn black oak branches and leaves silhouetted against blue sky, Yosemite Valley, California.

Believe it or not, one of the difficult things about photographing in the Sierra Nevada is… the weather is too nice! Sometimes for weeks on end it seems that you might see only perfect blue skies… boring perfect blue skies! When I visited Yosemite around Halloween this year to photograph fall color in the Valley I was really hoping for the same sort of “awful” weather I had last year – two days of rain and mist and clouds. Instead I got weather that seemed more like late summer than autumn.

So, what the heck, if the shapes and colors of the Valley’s oaks appear overhead with the “perfect blue sky” as a backdrop perhaps I’m supposed to photograph them against the perfect blue sky. All joking aside, I was attracted to the intense and saturated of the color of the sparse leaves on this tree, made all the more intense by the sun shining through their translucent shapes from behind and the almost monochrome shapes of the branches, and contrasted with the deep blue of the sky.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

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Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow

Black Oak Trees, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color of oak trees in morning light at El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, California.

It hardly looks like Halloween, but that’s when I made this photograph. I spent two days in the Valley over the October 31-November 1 weekend this fall – as I do every year – with the goal of photographing autumn conditions. I’ve photographed and described this spot so many times already that I’ll keep the description shot this time, but these black oaks grow in El Capitan Meadow at the base of the famous granite cliff and they catch beautiful light this time of year throughout the day.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, meadow, el capitan, cap, grass, brown, green, yellow, gold, black, oak, autumn, leaves, trunk, branch, tall, canopy, stock

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

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road

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Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset on Half Dome and El Capitan, photographed from Big Oak Flat Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

I almost always stop at this turnout along the Big Oak Flat Road entrance to Yosemite Valley when heading into the Valley and, if the conditions are right, photograph the view up the Valley past El Capitan toward Half Dome. (The turnout is just past the side road to Foresta as you head toward the Valley.) The morning view tends to be, obviously, backlit and often includes a lot of haze – which can be an interesting subject itself.

For some time I’ve wanted to try photographing this view near sunset. I have tried a few times during the past year, but either managed to miss the good light (it starts a bit earlier than I thought it would) or else I had flat and boring light when I arrived. On this afternoon I thought that the light might be more interesting so I managed to leave the Valley soon enough to get to this spot with plenty of time to spare. I actually arrived so early that I didn’t even set up my camera right away – but I was soon surprised by the full moon coming up above El Capitan! (Photos of that scene may be coming a bit later.)

As sunset approached the last light hit the forested ridge in the lower part of the scene and shadows from foreground ridges began to lengthen and get darker.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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