Tag Archives: north

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Foothills, Winter Grass

July 26, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter grasses and wildflowers come to life among trees and boulders in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Returning from a few days in Yosemite Valley early this year — we were there for the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibit — we looped somewhat lazily through Sierra foothill terrain on our way home. Since the plan was to arrive at a Central Valley bird refuge before sunset, we had most of the day to poke around and make photographs.

Late winter in California is the greenest time of year. When people visit the state during summer and remark on the golden brown hills, I always want to say, “You should have been here a few months ago!” This is the impossibly green season, when enough rain has fallen to get the grasses to take root and cover these hills, followed quickly by the appearance of wildflowers.

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

Forest and River, Evening

July 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light comes to the Tuolumne River and surrounding forest

A scene like this can be deceiving, at least when it comes to assumptions about how it might be photographed. It is a peaceful and tranquil scene, and that impression supports the idea that photographing such a subject might be a slow, contemplative, and measured process: explore slowly, consider compositions, set up the camera and fine tune, wait, then photograph.

Nothing could be further from the truth. At this time of day — unless one is photographing a subject that has been specifically planned and scheduled in advance — things happen with extraordinary speed, especially when it comes to the transitions of light. For example, the last light coming through the forest to strike the central tree lasted only moments. Knowing this, as soon as I saw it I photographed more or less instinctively, working quickly and hoping that I would have time before the light was gone— which it was only a moment later.

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

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Sky and Mountains

July 23, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mono Lake, shoreline, and mountains to the east.

The landscape of the Mono Lake Basin offers tremendous diversity — everything from intimate scenes of tufas and other features, to grand landscapes stretching off far into the distance. It is even a place to photograph wildlife in the context of landscape. In the right conditions the water becomes a subtle and varied element of the landscape, too.

I recently visited here early on a summer morning. I was staying back up in the Yosemite Sierra, but I decided to drive down for one morning of “east side” photography, including the lake and then some areas further south and east. At first I wasn’t too excited by the “empty” blue sky, but when I saw it as a counterpoint to the textured blue of the lake’s water I thought it deserved a photograph.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Barren Slopes

July 22, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Boulders scattered across the slopes of a rocky desert landscape

This bit of landscape is a familiar one for me. An odd hill stands in the middle of mostly level playa and near drifting sand — the hill is composed of a different and darker material and is in other ways not like the surroundings. A number of years ago I discovered that place provides some panoramic views of surrounding terrain that stretch off into the distance, and I often go there early in the morning or in the evening to photograph when conditions seem right.

On this evening I did go there, but decided to wander along its flank rather than go to the top. At the base of the western slopes the rugged and rocky terrain faced the sunset sky, muted by high clouds, and presented a series of shallow valleys leading off into the distance, punctuated by boulders.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: north

Foothills, Winter Grass

Forest and River, Evening

Mono Lake, Sky and Mountains

Barren Slopes

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