Tag Archives: Mountain

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

Forest, Granite Ridges

July 30, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light and thin forest along granite ridges, Yosemite National Park

This is to be a summer of travel, and a great deal of it will take me a long ways from my Sierra Nevada mountains — to other wonderful places, but not places that are wild and natural. (At least not until September, when my visits to the Sierra will recommence.) So I managed to get up into the Yosemite high country for four days in mid-July to do some photography… and breathing!

On the last morning, before returning to break camp, I headed out early to look for subjects in morning light. In fact, I had been watching this particular area and had in mind to photograph these trees, growing on an old glaciated granite ridge, against the background of more distant, haze-muted, ridges. Once I got there it was a bonus to notice the diagonal shadows of the distant trees.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Granite and Trees

July 29, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Afternoon light on a landscape of alpine trees and granite ridges

Four of us camped out in this back-country valley high near the Sierra crest in Kings Canyon National Park, all told spending more than a week in the area. We set up a base camp at the entrance to a beautiful lake-filled basin, and then we gradually pushed out the boundaries of our exploration. During our stay we probably photographed a dozen lakes, and we experienced almost the full range of late-summer Sierra conditions, ranging from beautiful sunny days to days of thunder and lightning and rain.

Late on this beautiful afternoon I headed out on a lazy meander up our valley and past a series of small lakes along a stream coming down from the higher benches and valley. I walked up the valley the last direct light before the sun dropped behind a tall ridge to our west, and near the upper end of the string of lakes I stopped to make a photograph of the banks of this small lake, the surrounding forest, and the granite terrain ascending towards alpine ridges far above.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Strata and Folds, Evening

July 28, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Desert terrain of contorted and folded strata

It has been well over a year since I made this photograph, but I remember the evening well. I had arrived in Death Valley earlier in the day, by way of a detour through the Los Angeles area, found a place to camp, and was now starting several days of intensive photography in the area. In the evening I headed south in the park to a particular knoll that I have photographed from before, with the idea of photographing a particular subject in some light that I had in mind.

I found and photographed that subject, though conditions weren’t quite what I expected. A combination of evening haze and strong winds presented some challenges — and I’ll need to return to the spot to make that photograph that I originally envisioned. However, from this elevated position there was a spectacular view of arid and rugged desert terrain in the opposite direction, so as the light on my original subject faded I turned my attention in this direction. There are many things to think about and say about terrain like this, but I’ll mention one thing. When we look at such a place our first impression is of the rugged dryness. But when we look again we see evidence of water everywhere in such a landscape — in those valleys, and in the gullies tracing twisting lines down the faces of the formations.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Back Country Taxi Service

July 27, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pack mules waiting to carry photographers into the Sierra Nevada back country

Mules like these are the delivery trucks and taxis of the backcountry, something that I didn’t always appreciate. There was a time some years back when I was simply annoyed by them, and felt that having to move to one side to let a string of animals pass was an affront. Then I found myself using pack animal support on a couple for long photography trips into the Sierra, and I was forced to modify my thinking a bit. There are places that the beasts shouldn’t go, but they also have a very long history of supplying and supporting back-country travelers. I started backpacking long enough ago that I even recall occasionally seeing a lone backpacker leading a mule.

This trip was the first and only time that I’ve actually ridden a mule into the backcountry. It was, as those who have tried it probably know, and “interesting” experience. I don’t have the space here to relate the whole story. I made this photograph on our first morning, when we went to the pack station to load up our gear before hitting the trail.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: Mountain

Forest, Granite Ridges

Alpine Granite and Trees

Strata and Folds, Evening

Back Country Taxi Service

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.