Tag Archives: nevada

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Nevada

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow

September 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light and autumn snow on the walls and towers above Wheeler Cirque, Great Basin National Park

I often return to national parks and other places with which I have developed a personal relationship over a long period of time. But sometimes I do get to visit a brand new place, and I did just that during the last week or so of this year, when I spent five days making the long trip out to Great Basin National Park and back. When I go to a new area like this I intentionally avoid trying to find out too much about it ahead of time, preferring to begin a process of learning the place on my own terms. I already knew a bit about the Great Basin and the basin and range country, and I did look up the location on maps, though I did not take a detailed look at the maps of the park itself. I knew that the park is near the Nevada-Utah border, with Baker, NV being the closest “town,” that Wheeler peak is the second tallest point in Nevada, that there is a glacier nearby, that there are famous caves, and that I could camp along the main road into the park. I left the rest for discovery.

As I drove across highway 50 from California I was surprised to find recent snow on all of the major mountain ranges in Nevada, and by the time I got to Great Basin NP I knew that I would see it there, too. I made this photograph on my final day in the park. I spent the morning exploring a less-visited area accessible via a long gravel road. (Where I discovered, at the wrong time of day, where to find a lot of fall color!) After lunch I went up to the summit of the park road at 10,000’+ and hiked out to the bristlecone pine grove, traveling a good portion of the distance on snow. It was cold — up here in the upper 30s at times during the day — and the sun goes down earlier this time of year, so I set a turn-around time that would get me back to my car before nightfall. I made this photograph within five minutes of the end of my hike, as the late light was slanting across the peaks and cirque walls from low in the west, and as clouds were forming above the summit ridges.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Peaks, and Storm

September 29, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A storm gathers above an alpine meadow and beyond snow-capped peaks

Not too long ago I posted another photograph made on this same afternoon, from roughly the same place, and featuring very similar subject. In that post I noted that I had made several photographs of this subject on this afternoon, and that I planned to share all of them eventually, perhaps with a bit of commentary concerning how each represented this subject in its own way. The general setting was a large, subalpine meadow surrounded by mountains and forest, and with expansive views across a nearby canyon to the high, rocky country on the far side. A large afternoon thunderstorm was building beyond the high ridge, but meanwhile the sun was bright at my locations. The primary elements of the scene included meadow, mountains, dark clouds, the small pond or tarn, and the nearby trees. There are many ways to “see” a subject photographically, and I tried several variations with this one.

I wanted to include the pond in the portion of the meadow in the photograph, but in this interpretation I decide not to put it in the center of the frame, but instead to have it off to the side, perhaps giving it a bit less presence in the scene. I wanted to include the small foreground trees to increase the sense of depth in the image and to ensure that there wasn’t empty space in the foreground. I framed the mountains this way so that I could place the dark peak in the middle, and envelop it in the higher peaks stretching back behind it. A remaining question was about how much sky in include. In another interpretation I included a lot of sky, placing the horizon near the center of the frame. Here I did what I more typically do, placing the horizon very high and including only a small strip of sky at the top. This draws attention to the landscape itself, and I was still able to include enough sky to make the dark thunder-storm clouds visible.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Crossing The Stream

September 24, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

I was out photographing around the lower end of the lake above this stream when two backpackers passed by. I was fascinated by watching them as they came through here, and their progression to and across the stream reminded me of some aspects of backcountry travel that are important and quite different from how we live our typical day-to-say city lives. They were moving efficiently as they approached the obstacle of this stream at the trail crossing. At first glance the crossing seemed obvious, with the trail clearly arriving and departing from opposite sides of this wide spot in its course. But, as is frequently the case, the crossing wasn’t as simple as it first looked — the water was unusually high for this time of year – and no ideal crossing was apparent. They stopped, looked around, tried a few options, finally settled on stepping across on slightly submerged rocks, and they crossed. The first hiker got across fine, and the dog followed, but the second hiker slipped into the water just a bit and then apparently lost a set of glasses. They pondered a bit, realized that they couldn’t get them back, and then set off, once again moving with a purpose across the meadow and on toward a higher lake.

I now think of something else when I see such backpackers, younger (to me, anyway!) backcountry visitors who seem in many ways like me a few decades ago. I envy their ability to carry large loads and to move quickly. I can still carry what I need to, but it is harder and slower than it once was! I also think about how much they cannot yet know about their potential future in these places, including the prospect that their appreciation and connection to the wilderness will grow and mature in ways that they cannot yet foresee. Sometimes I want to stop and tell them… but I never do.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflections, Early Morning

September 23, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A distant ridge in very early morning light is reflected on the surface of an alpine tarn

A photograph is a curious thing. It can “tell” you things about a subject — and about the person who made the photograph — that might not be easily communicated in other ways. On the other hand, a photograph usually leaves it to the viewer to guess at many aspects of the image’s context — and the viewer either brings her/his own context or may simply be unaware. For example, I probably see this scene very differently from others who view the photograph, even those who were there or who know the place. Let me explain.

What is not “visible” in this photograph? It was made near the end of a long stay in this area, where we were camped in forest a few hundred feet lower near a lake. So by this time I knew the spot quite well, and rather than “discovering” it I was essentially revisiting and looking more closely at things I already had seen. I had crawled out of my tent before sunrise, resisting the temptation to stay in the warm sleeping bag “for just a few more minutes,” and instead unzipping the bag, pulling on a down jacket and boots, heading outside and shouldering my gear. It was still not light when I arrived here, and a made a few “warm up” photographs as I wandered around this pond in the damp meadow. To make the photograph I was standing almost as much in the lake as I was next to it. At the time of this photograph the first, warm dawn light had come and gone, though the alignment of the peaks meant that not much direct light fell on the scene. Having visiting this spot for a week now, I was also noticing that the grass on the rise across the small pond was now visibly transitioning from summer green to autumn brown. As I worked a breeze came up, ruffling the surface of the water — and this photograph was made during a brief interval when it quieted enough to reflect the distant peaks. And speaking of those peaks, as I stood here and looked at them I was also aware that in about 48 hours I would be leaving, crossing a 12,000′ pass that is visible at the low point on that ridge. The trip was coming to an end.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: nevada

Wheeler Cirque, Autumn Snow

Meadow, Peaks, and Storm

Crossing The Stream

Reflections, Early Morning

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