Tag Archives: Mountain

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Oaks in Rain, El Capitan Meadow

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Autumn Oaks in Rain, El Capitan Meadow

Autumn Oaks in Rain, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brightly colored autumn oak trees in El Capitan Meadow with fog shrouded cliff face of Cathedral Rocks beyond – Yosemite Valley, California.

El Capitan Meadow, beneath the face of El Capitan and across the Valley from Cathedral Rocks (see in beyond the trees in this photo) is one of my favorite spots in the Valley. The meadow itself is beautiful in almost any season – green and lush in spring, colorful in fall, and sometimes snow covered in winter – and the backdrop formed by any of several large nearby rock faces is impressive. I shoot here every time I’m in the Valley – even last winter when I had to hike across this narrow section of the Valley in snow to get there.

In this early November photograph the trees are in full fall color and the meadow grasses and plants have gone dormant – and fog hugs the face of Cathedral Rocks in light rain.

keywords: oak, black, tree, fall, autumn, color, leaf, leaves, gold, yellow, fog, mist, rain, el, capitan, meadow, grass, plant, branch, forest, grove, nature, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, stock, scenic, travel, landscape, cliff, mountain, cathedral, rocks

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

Fall Foliage, Ahwahnee Meadow

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Fall Foliage, Ahwahnee Meadow

Fall Foliage, Ahwahnee Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall foliage in Ahwahnee Meadow on a foggy and rainy November day – Yosemite Valley, California.

If you visit the Valley very often you probably know of this small grove of trees set in the Ahwahnee Meadow not too far from Yosemite Village and the Ahwahnee, with (depending upon where you stand) background views of Glacier Point, Half Dome, or Yosemite Falls. I have certain traditions regarding where I photograph in the Valley, and one is to photograph this grove, especially when the new spring growth appears or when the colors change in the fall. I’ve photographed it close up (it is especially nice when shallow winter fog settles into this meadow above a few inches of snow) and from further back as in this photograph made from the edge of the meadow along the road/trail to the Ahwahnee. It was raining lightly when I shot this, and low fog was passing through and behind the trees along the base of the Glacier Point Apron beyond the forest.

keywords: fall, autumn, color, leaves, yellow, gold, greedn meadow, grass, brown, forest, grove, pines, glacier point, apron, cliff, rock, mountain, yosemite, valley, national park, season, fog, mist, clouds, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

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

Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge

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Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge

Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color along the banks of the Merced River at the El Capitan Bridge, Yosemite Valley.

This is a second photograph that I made of this scene last weekend. (I posted the other one here a few days ago.) The first major winter storm of the season was just coming in, and it had already rained enough to cause the Merced River to begin to rise – which explains the debris floating on the surface in this photo.

I decided to work this scene with prime lenses rather than my zooms, so I made the previous photograph using the somewhat wider view of my 35mm lens and made this one using a 50mm prime. Frankly, I’m still going back and forth on which I like best. I like the way that this tighter crop fills the frame with the fall colors, but I like the composition of the wider view, too.

keywords: fall, autumn, color, foliage, leaves, gold, yellow, green, tree, oak, leaves, plants, nature, water, merced, river, bend, el capitan, meadow, bridge, mountain, cliff, face, reflection, yosemite, valley, national park, seaon, fog, cloud, california, usa, log, landscape, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Falls and Mist, Autumn

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Yosemite Falls and Mist, Autumn

Yosemite Falls and Mist, Autumn. Yosemite Valley, California. November 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite Falls in mist following an autumn rain storm.

In almost every way last weekend was a special one for photographers in Yosemite Valley. Not only were the fall colors intensified by the rain, but the good sized storm restarted creeks, rivers, and waterfalls that in many cases had gone more or less dormant for the season. When I arrived on Saturday morning there was just a trickle of water coming over Yosemite Falls. But that afternoon the flow was approaching typical early summer levels, and many small seasonal falls had come to life all over the valley – water was running everywhere.

When I stopped in this meadow to admire Yosemite Falls I first only thought of photographing the interesting nearly leafless trees near the Merced River – partly because I usually don’t bother to photograph the view of the falls from this spot and partly because the upper fall was obscured by thick fog anyway. But soon it became apparent that the fog was in motion and the sun was occasionally getting through and striking the cliff faces around and below the fall. I started to think something special might happen and in the end I spend a good hour in this spot waiting for the right combination of light and fog.

keywords: yosemite, falls, valley, national park, waterfall, mist, fog, cloud, sky, ridge, cliff, mountain, forest, grove, tree, meadow, grass, autumn, season, california, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, trunk, branch, sierra, nevada