Tag Archives: nature

Events, Gallery, News, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

A Reprise: “Fractured Granite, Reflections”

February 28, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fractured Granite, Reflection, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks — “Fractured Granite, Reflection” — The base of a rugged granite wall reflected in the still surface of a sub-alpine Sierra Nevada lake

Today I am reprising a photograph that I shared previously since it is part of the Yosemite Renaissance XXIX exhibit opening this weekend in the Yosemite Museum Gallery in The Valley.

An exhibition of contemporary art of Yosemite and the Sierra
Saturday, March 1 to Sunday, May 11, 2014
Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite National Park

The first event of the show is tonight…

The public is invited to the
Awards Reception, Friday, February 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Perhaps I’ll see you there!

Now, to the text of the original post, plus a more recent addition…

The base of a rugged granite wall reflected in the still surface of a sub-alpine Sierra Nevada lake

A few days ago I returned from a 9-day trip into the back-country of Kings Canyon National Park. I was one of a group of four photographers who traveled to a remote location at about 11,000′, where we remained for more than five days, photographing the surrounding terrain morning and evening. We followed the common routine of such work – up before dawn and off to investigate and photograph some valley or lake, back by mid or late morning for breakfast, generally hanging out and doing camp chores during the midday period when the light is often less exciting, then back out in the late afternoon for a few more hours of exploration and photography before returning to camp for a post-sunset dinner. Unlike a typical backpack trip, where one rarely stays in the same place for long, we remained in the same camp for six nights, allowing us to really get to know the surrounding area very well.

With so much time, we were frequently able to return to places that we had already visited – perhaps coming back in the evening after a morning visit, returning to try again to catch a subject that didn’t have the right light the first time, or shooting the subject in various conditions ranging from clear skies to rain. This bit of interesting rock was next to a lake that I walked to on a number of occasions, and on this morning I arrived when the lake was still in shadow but illuminated by light reflected from nearby rock faces. Because it was so early the air was very still, allowing me to photograph this very sharp reflection of the fractured granite cliff where it entered the water. A bit of vegetation just above the waterline has taken on early fall colors.

Addendum: It occurred to me last week that there is a (perhaps tenuous?) connection between this photograph – with its theme of a vertical rock face above placid water – and this one by Ansel Adams that I had an early connection to: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/photographs/ansel-adams-lake-precipice-frozen-lake-and-5056399-details.aspx – I have a personal connection to the place, which I wrote about here: https://gdanmitchell.com/2010/01/14/a-photograph-exposed-submerged-boulders-precipice-lake

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Kelp and Stone

February 27, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I met a group of photographer friends at Point Lobos on this mid-February day, where we spent the entire morning photographing before taking a midday break, followed by a quick visit to another location a bit further down the Pacific Coast Highway, and then a return to Point Lobos in the early evening. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, we started shooting near Weston Beach – but perhaps to everyone’s surprise, we were still shooting there when lunchtime rolled around! Fortunately, the light was somewhat cooperative, with some high clouds muting the sun that would otherwise have been too intense by that time of day.

We did not limit ourselves entirely to Weston Beach, and we wandered a bit north and south along bluff and rocks at times, photographing the huge winter surf. Eventually I ended up back at the “beach” (which seems not very beach-like at all, being mostly layered rock and big gravelly rocks) where I always like to look around slowly for interesting arrangements of whatever the sea throws up here. In one spot I found a pair of marble-round rocks, one pink and the other deep blue. Here I found a beautifully twisted and curved bit of kelp sitting on top of deeply patterned rocks not far from the edge of the water. In fact, it was so close to the water’s edge that I was only able to make a couple of exposures before a wave came far enough up on the beach to wash this kelp back out into the sea.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Colorful Pebbles, Layered Sandstone

February 25, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two colorful pebbles rest on layered shoreline sandstone, Point Reyes Reserve

As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I visit Weston Beach at Point Lobos I often spend some time wandering around near the edge of the water, looking for interesting bits and pieces of “stuff” washed up by the winter surf. The stuff can range from small stones to kelp. Many of the stones are, not surprisingly, well-rounded from being rolled around in the surf. Occasionally a very colorful stone will show up… but here I got lucky and found these two, one deep blue and the other an intense pink-burgundy, sitting side by side in an indentation in the textured and layered shoreline sandstone.

It takes a bit of luck–and some observation–to find such things, but that isn’t quite enough. The light has to be right, too, and that isn’t always a sure thing here. It can be foggy, though that wasn’t the concern on this mid-February winter day. Since we arrived well into the morning hours, it was quite possible that as the sky cleared we would find the light far too harsh. However, luck was with us, and a high, thin layer of clouds moved in and muted the intensity of the light. I framed up this little composition and just waited for subtle changes in the light that would provide a soft shadow that was filled in with soft light.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Tree and Fog, Dawn

February 24, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary tree reflected in the still surface of a San Joaquin Valley pond beneath winter dawn sky

This in another of those photographs that reminds me that much of what happens in a photograph is not subject to planning. We had traveled to the Central Valley to photograph migratory birds and the flat and often atmospheric landscape of this area, and we were anxious to be here since these seasonal conditions are not likely to last a whole lot longer this year. It was crystal clear as we drove into the valley but, not unexpectedly, we began to encounter thick ground fog ten or fifteen minutes before reaching our goal. It was still dark when we arrived, with just a hint of coming light to the east, and soon friends joined us and we started looking for photographic possibilities.

Our friends Michael and Claudia drove ahead as we readied our cameras, and by the time we caught up with them I saw that Michael had left the vehicle and taken off for the edge of a nearby pond, were he was barely visible silhouetted in the fog against the very early light in the sky. I made a “photographer at work” picture of him in this scene (shared here earlier), and only then started to wander that direction of myself. Unless it is the sort of fog that sits heavily and doesn’t move, fog is one of the most ephemeral and transitory atmospheric conditions. It changes continually, becoming thicker and thinner, transmitting more or less light, becoming thinner here and thicker there, and glowing with varying levels and colors of light. When I reached the edge of the water it was thick and glowing with deep pinkish-purple colors of dawn light. I found a composition that included a solitary tree and some foreground reeds and made a few photographs. This one was just a moment later in the series, but by now the fog had thinned slightly to provide a view of higher clouds to the east and the intense colors had become more subtle.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: nature

A Reprise: “Fractured Granite, Reflections”

Kelp and Stone

Colorful Pebbles, Layered Sandstone

Tree and Fog, Dawn

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