Tag Archives: north

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

August 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunrise light on trees ascending the side of a volcanic cone, east of the Sierra Nevada

I frequently photograph in the Mono Basin, at and around Mono Lake. I have been photographing there long enough that I’ve learned to look beyond the famous tufa formations — worthy photographic subjects that they area — and try to find other elements that also are intrinsic to the character of the place. The lake itself is one subject — its huge expanse, the immense quiet and stillness often found there, the birds, and the sky. The surrounding terrain is also very interesting once you spend some time looking away from the lake: the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, gentle terrain rising to eastward mountains, ponderosa pine forests, and more.

Many years ago I became intrigued by these trees that grow a good distance up the sides of the volcanic domes rising just south of the lake. At certain times the light bathes them in color and can turn a normally drab scene into something quite striking. ON this morning the sun had just risen into hazy skies, and there was a great deal of red in the light, contrasting with the very blue color of the shadows.

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

Two Trees and Granite

August 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Two old trees grow at the base of a granite dome

This is a slightly different treatment of the same subject I posted a few days ago. These trees grow on the broken talus at the base of this large expanse of glaciated granite. I’m astonished that they have managed to become so massive, given the rather difficult terrain upon which they grow.

These trees are familiar friends at this point. I’ve photographed them for quite a few years, usually with a bit of a wider perspective that includes more of their surroundings, from the dome itself to some large foreground trees that are out of the frame in this photograph. This time I decided to eliminate much of that surrounding material and let the trees appear more isolated from the competing subjects.

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

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow

August 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early morning light illuminates a ridge in glaciated granite terrain

I camped outside the park on this visit to the Sierra, and before dawn I was on the road and over Tioga Pass, heading toward various potential photographic subjects back along Tioga Pass Road. (I often end up camping over the pass on the east side of the park — this time it was because no campgrounds were yet open along the entirety of Tioga Pass Road due to the heavy winter snowfall and delays in clearing the roadway.) I wasn’t positive where I would photograph, but I knew that I’d find light if I looked.

After stopping to photograph a few other subjects I ended up all the way past Tenaya Lake, and I stopped at a well-known overlook. My initial idea was to photograph back-lit trees on ridges to the east, so I went to work on that subject first. As I finished I noticed that the sun was high enough that it was beginning to strike some of the high points on the large previously shaded granite slopes nearby. Here the first light has stretched across the length of a rib of rock, and in the shadows you can see the shapes of trees on the ridge over which the sunlight was streaming.

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

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest

August 26, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The last ground fog clears in the distance beyond a young Tuolumne Meadows tree.

In mid-July we were in the Tuolumne Meadows area for a single night, camping at the main campground. It was a little bit of a lazy trip — photography was on the agenda, but the main reason we were there was to field-test some new gear that we plan to make more substantial use of on an upcoming trip. Very heavy wildfire smoke also put a bit of a damper on photography on the first day and into the evening. So when I went to sleep that night I wasn’t really sure if the smoke would clear in the morning, and I entertained the possibility of sleeping in.

A half hour before dawn I awoke and peered outside. It was hard to see in the faint light, but it appeared that the smoke had pretty much cleared, so I unzipped my sleeping bag, quickly dressed warmly, grabbed camera gear, and was on my way to the nearby meadow. I arrived before the first sun arrived, a very quiet and peaceful time when few others are out and about. In fact, for an hour I had “my” section of the meadow and surrounding forest entirely to myself. Soon the first beams of sunlight arrived and the thin ground fog began to dissipate. I love shooting into the morning light, especially when there is a just a bit of haze in the atmosphere. If you look closely you may be able to see the last remnants of the ground fog on the far side of the meadow.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: north

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

Two Trees and Granite

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest

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