Tag Archives: nature

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

River and Forest, Evening

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River and Forest, Evening
Evening light along the shores of the Tuolumne River

River and Forest, Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light along the shores of the Tuolumne River

There are many little rituals that I have developed around making photographs. A few may be mine alone, but I have learned that others also engage in some similar processes. One has to do with the first photographs of any adventure. While sometimes a photograph simply leaps out at me, on other occasions it may take a while to get “warmed up” and start seeing. You have a choice — you can wait for inspiration to strike (sometimes for quite a while), or you can “prime the pump” and start making photographs. I generally prefer the latter.

On this trip I had arrived at my Tuolumne Meadows campsite in the afternoon. I set up camp, did a bunch of the usual camp stuff, then took a nap in order to compensate for getting up hours before dawn for the drive. Then I took a camera-free hike up to Elizabeth Lake. And, yes, once I got there I did regret leaving my camera gear behind! Returning from the hike, it was time to make a quick dinner and go start making photographs. I wandered out into the meadow and made a few quiet images of meadow, river, and forest… and the trip was officially underway.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn, Mono Lake and Sierra Crest

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Dawn, Mono Lake and Sierra Crest
Dawn light on the Sierra crest at South Tufa, Mono Lake

Dawn, Mono Lake and Sierra Crest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn light on the Sierra crest at South Tufa, Mono Lake

There is a bit of a story behind the choice to post this photograph today. And that story may help explain the posting of more than a few older photographs this month. Every December, like so many other photographers, I prepare a set of “favorite photographs” from the year that is about to conclude. (Something happened this past December and I was delayed in this process. One thing led to another and I never did post my annual set of favorites for 2017!) Part of my process for preparing the list of favorites is to go through ALL of my raw files from the year, and I often discover interesting work that I missed as I engage in this process. I didn’t do that either… so I’m now digging back into the older files to see what I missed. So expect a mixture of current and older work through August and possibly into early September.

To make things a bit more confusing, this photograph is even older! It comes from 2007. Once I get into this process of looking at old files, I never know where it will lead! I made the photograph on a lovely, quiet morning at Mono Lake, when the water was still and the first light was shining on the eastern Sierra Nevada.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Timberline Lake And Reflections

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Timberline Lake And Reflections
A timberline lake in 20 Lakes Basin reflects the face of a tall granite ridge

Timberline Lake And Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A timberline lake in 20 Lakes Basin reflects the face of a tall granite ridge

This scene gets up close and personal with the crest of the Sierra Nevada, along the boundary country just northeast of Yosemite National Park. The lake is just below the tree line, so the forest here is very sparse and the trees small. Just beyond the lake the terrain becomes so rocky that the trees basically end.

I hiked here early on mid-July morning, starting at dawn and having the trail and this lake almost entirely to myself — at the height of Sierra summer tourist season! (One group did pass by on a nearby trail, but otherwise no one else was there.) The reflections in this lake of the steep and rocky terrain beyond are marvelous, and I considered a square format crop that eliminates the “distracting” sky and peak — and I still may do that!

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | LinkedIn | Email

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

Slabs and Domes, Clearing Storm, Evening

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Tuolumne Meadows in evening light as afternoon storm clouds begin to clear

Slabs and Domes, Clearing Storm, Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tuolumne Meadows in evening light as afternoon storm clouds begin to clear

This was an evening of dramatically evolving light, alternately brilliant and blah! Thunderstorm weather in the Sierra is such a tricky and transitory thing, and there are frequent swings from “meh” light to astonishing light. When the storm conditions are at their peak, the light can be very flat and “gray,” with little contrast — and it can be a challenge to find ways to make effective photographs. (Not impossible, mind you… just challenging!) But these conditions often bear the seeds of remarkable and dramatic light, especially as the storms begin to clear. Breaks in the cloud cover often send beams of light — frequently warm, saturated golden hour light — across parts of the landscape, and this light may highlight specific features against a backdrop of contrasting darker scenery and dramatic clouds.

These effects can appear (and disappear) quite quickly, and landscape photography in these conditions becomes anything but a leisurely and meditative process. In fact, it is more a matter of “photograph now or it will disappear!” In truth, things happen so quickly that they often disappear before there is time to set up a camera and make a photograph. The light on the foreground meadow and its protruding granite slabs and boulders came in at a low angle from the west, here more clearing was taking place. I was fortunate in that it not only highlighted the foreground formation but also lit up the more distant granite domes, which stand out against their darker surroundings.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | LinkedIn | Email

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