Tag Archives: national

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Creek

September 19, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Redwood creek flows though lush forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California

This was more or less the first photograph I made on this August early morning visit to Muir Woods National Monument, and its main redwood groves. I had arrived very early – well before the park opened and other visitors arrived – and I was almost all alone as the first morning light begin to filter down through trees into this valley.

The photograph was made at a rather prosaic location, the first footbridge on the main “nature trail” though the popular monument. However, being here so early, I had the rare opportunity to set my tripod up on the bridge without having to worry about inconveniencing other visitors (there weren’t any!) or waiting for the bridge to stop vibrating as hordes of people walked across. And, yes, that is an issue here, since when I shoot at low ISOs and small apertures I often end up with exposure times measured in seconds when shooting in the deep shade of the redwood forest. One of the most challenging things when shooting in this lush environment, at least for me, is to try to tease a coherence composition out of scenes that often include a ton of detail. This is certainly one of those scenes, but I think that the curving trees, the downward arc of branches on the left, the foreground stream, and perhaps a sense of depth creating by further trees in brighter light might make this work.

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

Dogwood Thicket and Forest, Evening

September 9, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Blooming dogwoods among the conifer forest in evening light, Yosemite National Park

Among photographers and others who watch the seasons change in the Sierra, the spring blossoming of the Yosemite Valley dogwood trees is an important indicator that winter is over, spring is here, and summer cannot be far away. At the right time, in many locations in The Valley these flowers can bloom profusely, and this year’s bloom was exceptional. However, many who focus their visits on the brief (a week or two?) bloom in Yosemite Valley may overlook the beautiful though perhaps a bit different bloom that continues in the higher country.

I was in the Valley on this early May day for various reasons, but as evening approached I decided to drive up out of the Valley to a particular little tree-filled Valley where I often stop – in spring for the dogwood flowers and in fall for the autumn colors of these trees. I arrived during the hour before sunset when the late sunlight still shines over the top of a low ridge to the west and filters through the mixed forests to backlight the thickets of dogwood trees growing among the more typical forest trees of the area, and I spent the evening quietly looking and walking among the trees of this little section of forest.

(Note: This photograph was made in late spring, but it appears on my blog in early September… following the gigantic “Rim” fire in the vicinity of the northwest boundary of Yosemite National Park. From what I can tell from the fire maps on the Internet, there is a possibility that these trees are now gone, though I have not had a chance to check yet. They are/were on the west side of the road that formed one of the fire breaks, so I’m hopeful that they might have been saved. I’ll know soon.)

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Maple and Sorrel, Redwood Grove

September 7, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

An old maple tree leans above a bed of redwood sorrel in a redwood grove at Muir Woods National Monument

Of the group of photographs I made on this early August morning at Muir Woods National Monument, this may be the darkest scene of all. Almost no direct sunlight had yet penetrated down into this section of the forest, with the exception of a few odd beams striking here and there among the higher branches, and one coming across the forest floor from the right side of the frame.

Redwood trees here are generally quite straight and bulky. With the exception of those that have fallen or are leaning over, they forma a continuous pattern of vertical lines. Breaking up this verticality are the curving shapes of trees like the laurel, and in this scene a thick, old maple tilts wildly to the right at a 45-degree angle, and is the form that initially attracted me to this spot. The forest floor here is almost covered with redwood sorrel, a clover-like plant that puts out small blossoms earlier in the year. The light, of course, is soft and the whole scene is in deep shade.

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

Trees and Boulder, Morning

September 5, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Morning light on a boulder and a small group of trees growing on a granite slab in the Yosemite high country.

I suppose this sort of shot is turning up with a great deal of frequency among my photographs. I can’t help myself – I’m crazy about the combination of back (or side) lit trees, granite slabs and boulders, and haze obscured mountains, forests, and domes. I suppose this may be because such views, especially early and late in the day, seem to me to characterize the high country of Yosemite as much as just about any other feature.

This group of trees grows in a well-known location, and I drove to it before sunrise so that I could be out and about and looking for light from the get-go. This is a location that I have shot quite a few times in the past, so I feel like I’m getting more of a handle on what some of the possibilities and potentials are. On this morning I began nearby in a spot where there were lots of long shadows still, and after the sun rose a bit higher I moved on to this area of granite slabs and glacial erratic boulders, looking for trees that could stand against the more distant background of the glaciated granite forms with sparse trees growing here and there – in fact, on that far ridge they grow much the same way as the trees that are the central focus of this image.. There is almost always some haze here at this time of day, but it may have been just a bit thicker than usual due to a fire on the east side of the Sierra.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: national

Redwood Creek

Dogwood Thicket and Forest, Evening

Maple and Sorrel, Redwood Grove

Trees and Boulder, Morning

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