Tag Archives: needle

Lodgepole Pine Forest, Morning, Lower Young Lake

Lodgepole Pine Forest, Morning, Lower Young Lake

Lodgepole Pine Forest, Morning, Lower Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell all rights reserved.

Morning light illuminates dense lodgepole pine forest near the edge of Lower Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

As hard as it is to crawl out of a warm sleeping bag on a cool morning, I managed to do it on this morning. Just as the sun was coming up I was wandering along the shoreline of Lower Young Lake. While I made some photographs of the lake itself, I ended up becoming most interested in the area around the outflow stream. It features a rocky trail crossing of the stream, a small open area of meadow, and very thick surrounding forest. I thought I’d try another in my recent series of very dense and detailed composition here, this one including a thick stand of lodgepole pines just as the sun rose high enough to begin to cast some light on the forest floor.

(To be honest, I’m pretty certain that this one is going to work far better as a large print than as a small jpg… but there you go! )

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: pinus contorta, lodgepole, tamarack, pine, forest, tree, boulder, rock, log, branch, needle, trunk, twist, flora, grass, flower, plant, morning, light, dense, vegetation, lower, young, lake, yosemite, national park, california, usa, intimate, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, hike, backpack, camp, stock

Four Redwoods, Muir Woods

Four Redwoods, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Four Redwoods, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A detail of the weathered and burn-scarred trunks of four old redwood trees at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Although I find it a very hard subject to photograph, I’m always intrigued by the textures and shapes of redwood tree trunks, especially when they are as rugged and time-worn as these are. There are four trees in this photo with the most distant picking up a bit more light than those in the foreground. This grouping is, I’m almost embarrassed to admit, right next to a very popular section of the most popular trail at Muir Woods.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin, forest, nature, california, usa, redwood, tree, trunk, bark, weathered, scar, burn, char, fire, damage, texture, four, needle, pattern, abstract, detail, overlap, moss, green, black, brown, light, marin county, scenic, travel, foliage, stock

Brown Branch and Bark

Brown Branch and Bark

Brown Branch and Bark. Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California. January 17, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A brown branch lies across the rough textures of redwood tree bark at Big Basin, California.

I’m posting this one new even though I don’t think it is yet in its final form. The photograph was made in a shaded portion of the redwood forest at Big Basin State Park last weekend on a very cold afternoon. I just happened to spot this solitary dead branch/twig against the deep and rough texture of the redwood tree bark as I started up a trail.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Pine Branches – Fletcher Lake

Pine Branches - Fletcher Lake

Pine Branches – Fletcher Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Close up photograph of pine branches in soft morning light at Fletcher Lake in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park, California.

This is a portrait orientation version of a scene I photographed recently while on a backpack trip into the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp – Fletcher Lake area of the Yosemite National Park backcountry. I photographed these branches in morning light, and most of the light is filtering in from the other side of the tree and reflected from the sky and brightly illuminated rocks and lake.

keywords: pine, tree, branch, needle, close, macro, morning, light, fletcher, lake, vogelsang, high, sierra, camp, yosemite, national park, california, usa, back-country, backpack, hike, camp, nature, flora, foliage, outdoor, forest, stock