Tag Archives: Mountain

Photographs: People, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Steve at Upper Hamilton Lake

Leave a comment

Steve at Upper Hamilton Lake

Steve at Upper Hamilton Lake. Sequoia National Park, California. August 5, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserve

Steve wades into Upper Hamilton Lake below Kaweah Gap – High Sierra Trail, Sequoia National Park, California.

Upper Hamilton Lake was our goal on the second night of our August 2008 9-day trans-Sierra backpack trip from Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park to Whitney Portal. This beautiful (and popular) lake is set in a deep bowl below Kaweah Gap, the pass across the Great Western Divide that we would cross the next morning.

keywords: steve, ratcliff, man, person, wade, stand, water, lake, shallow, alpine, mountain, kaweah, gap, great western divide, high, sierra, trail, nevada, sequoia, national park, california, usa, sky, cloud, reflection, ripple, hat, hike, packpack, camp, outdoor, stock, camp, ridge, peak

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cove and Rocky Beach, Big Sur Coastline

Leave a comment

Cove and Rocky Beach
Cove and Rocky Beach. Big Sur Coast, California. July 21, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cove and rocky beach near the outlet of a silt-filled stream along the Big Sur coastline of California. Photographed during my late July photography trip up the Big Sur coastline via Highway One, the Coast Highway.

The interesting and unusual coloration in the water of the cove seems to come from silt in a nearby stream and/or a shallow underwater sand bar. (I’m not certain which, but I’m inclined toward the former.)

keywords: big sur, california, landscape, nature, ocean, pacific ocean, seascape, seashore, summer, travel, usa, water, waves, usa, sea, cove, beach, rock, headland, cliff, silt, haze, mountain, bay, island, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap

Leave a comment

Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap
Evening, Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of Upper Hamilton Lake and Kaweah Gap as evening sun strikes peaks around the upper basin – Sequoia National Park, California.

Upper Hamilton Lake is located on the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National Park, and is the traditional camping spot before climbing over Kaweah Gap on the ridge in this photograph. I arrived there on August 6, 2008 on the second day of nine-day trans-Sierra backpacking trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney portal, and we left the next morning to climb the Gap and head to points east.

This photograph was made in the evening as the sun set, sending its light through the narrow opening of the canyon to the west toward the wall at the upper end of the lake – while the high ridge is still in sunlight the lake and surrounding slopes are already in shadow. The photograph was made from a position not more than ten or twelve feet from my campsite.

keywords: landscape, upper, hamilton, lake, kaweah, gap, great western, divide, ridge, mountain, pass, basin, cirque, water, reflection, evening, sunset, golden hour, blue, sky, clouds, forest, tree, brush, rock, talus, peak, alpine, sequoia, national park, california, usa, stock, backpack, hike, camp

Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Reyes

Leave a comment
Point Reyes
Black and white photograph of Point Reyes and the Pacific Ocean with afternoon reflections.

Point Reyes. Point Reyes National Seashore, California. June 1, 2008. © Copyright 2008 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brilliant afternoon light on the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes.

Black and white photograph of Point Reyes and the Pacific Ocean with afternoon reflections. This photograph was made in extraordinarily windy conditions from a high point a bit further along the bluffs of the point with late afternoon sunlit brightly illuminating the ocean surface. (There is also a color version of this photograph in the queue, and it should show up here soon.)

There are several things that I like about this photograph. First, the memory of the circumstances of the photograph is a powerful one. Point Reyes is a wild and windy place, well out in the Pacific and facing out to see – usually with strong winds blowing. On this day the winds were incredible; so strong that it was all I could do to get a steady shot even while holding tightly to the tripod, which was lowered down to near the ground. And the reflection off of the ocean surface was astonishingly bright – impressive in its own right and a real photographic challenge. Finally, I like the way that the land of Point Reyes seems to extend only tentatively into what is primarily an ocean photograph.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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