Tag Archives: national

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

Sierra Wave, Mounts Dana and Gibbs

July 19, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening Sierra wave clouds build above Mounts Dana and Gibbs along the Sierra crest.

This is how the show began, though I had my suspicions much earlier in the afternoon. When conditions are right, a “Sierra wave” cloud formation can form along and just to the east of the Sierra Nevada crest. It can be a long, undulating cloud formation, sometimes with many stacked layers — think of lenticular clouds that are many tens of miles long. The clouds simply sit above the crest, unmoving (though subtly transitioning in form) for hours. They are very impressive in broad daylight, but in the evening when conditions are right they are lit by the last sun coming from far west of the range, and the colors can be quite nearly unbelievable.

I first saw some interesting potential clouds shortly after noon, and I began to keep an eye on them. As evening approached I thought that perhaps they might dissipate or dissolve enough that the shape would not be compelling, though some sunset color was certainly a possibility. I set out to photograph something else entirely, slowly wandering up to the far end of a subalpine meadow by myself and photographing for perhaps an hour and a half. At this point the clouds looked like they were starting to hold greater potential for something quite special, so with about 45 minutes remaining before sunset I began to head back to the western edge of the meadow, from which this view included the clouds, the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne Meadow, and the summits of Mounts Dana and Gibbs. If you are wondering if the color finally developed… stay tuned!

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

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

Sierra Meadow, Evening Light

July 18, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Cathedral Range and the Dana Fork fork of the Tuolumne River

One of the great pleasures of the Sierra — and other places, for that matter — is “aimless wandering,” just heading out into a landscape with no specific goal in mind, but simply to move slowly and quietly and find what there is to see. This was an evening for such things, so I went to a familiar place a few hours before the end of the day and just walked off slowly into the landscape, meandering along the boundary between meadow and forest, stopping frequently to observe. Truth be told, I probably spent more time standing still than walking.

Perhaps 45 minutes before sunset I realized that some unusual “sky action” was about to take place above my location, and my meandering took on a clearer since of direction. I began to work my way back toward my starting point, a location from which I envisioned photographs of the sky and foreground landscape. But even this more purposeful walking was slow, and along the way I stopped to photograph this bend in the river, with a distant granite ridge above the meadow and forest.

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

Badlands, Evening

July 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on deeply eroded terrain, Death Valley National Park

Early each spring I head back to Death Valley for several days of exploration and photography. In March of 2015 I began my trip with a visit to Los Angeles, from which I departed and drove to the park to set up my camp. My typical ritual is to arrive in the early afternoon, find a campsite, get set up and settled in, wait for early evening, and then head out for my first photography in this vast landscape.

I began by heading to an area of the Valley with expansive views across to the Panamint Mountains, backlit by the early evening sun. I photographed them through a moody haze from an elevated spot that I often go to. Before long the light on these mountains faded as the sun dropped behind them, and my attention turned to nearer formations on my side of the valley, which were now being illuminated by the warm evening light. The low angle delineated the complex structures of these badlands during the last few minutes of light.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese at First Light

July 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

I’ll begin by briefly repeating the background of my visit to this place. Last winter, after several years of photographing migratory birds enthusiastically at some wonderful and familiar locations, I decided it was time to expand my horizons a bit. I set out to explore a few other new (to me) places where the birds can be found, mostly further north in California that I typically go to photograph this subject. These trips eventually took me all the way up to the far northeast corner of the state and even into Oregon, but the first excursion was to some areas in the Sacramento Valley.

I had read about this area and passed by it many times, including once or twice during the “bird season.” Shortly after New Years Day I decided to make a visit focused on photographing birds — and, as is my habit, the landscapes they inhabit. Many hours before dawn I set out on the long, dark drive to the north. I arrived at this place moments before sunrise and had to work quickly on pure instinct to find photographs in this unfamiliar landscape. I quickly discovered areas where there were birds, including this flock of geese taking to the air in the first sunlight of the morning.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: national

Sierra Meadow, Evening Light

Badlands, Evening

Geese at First Light

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