Tag Archives: north

Snowmelt Pond, Sunset

Sunset sky reflected in a Tuolumne Meadows early-summer snowmelt pond.

Snowmelt Pond, Sunset. Yosemite National Park, California. July 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset sky reflected in a Tuolumne Meadows early-summer snowmelt pond.

On a more typical Tuolumne visit than the one I experienced last week, this might have been the first photograph I would have shared. If you have followed my posts during the past few days, however, you know that I was fortunate to photograph a very atypical evening two days after I made this photograph – and I’ve been focusing on those images from this visit first.

This photograph was made two nights earlier, on the first evening of my Tuolumne Meadows visit. The location is at the edge of an extensive meltwater pool near the west end of the Meadows, a spot where I like to photograph early in the season. The distant ridge holds Ragged Peak (near Young Lakes), the distant tip of Mount Conness, and other peaks to the north of the Meadow.


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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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False Solomon’s Seal, Rain

False Solomon's Seal After Rain

False Solomon’s Seal, Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ground growing False Solomon’s Seal plants and flowers after morning rain – along Highway 120 in Yosemite National Park, California.

As I entered Yosemite on Highway 120 during the first weekend of June I stopped at one of my favorite dogwood groves along this road. The diffused light from overcast and the intense colors from early morning rain created striking colors in this grove – and I was surprised to find that there were still many dogwood blooms. While wandering around looking for just the right blossoms I happened to look down and notice a lot of lush new undergrowth including this little patch of false solomon’s seal.

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: false, solomons seal, Smilacina racemosa, highway, 120, rain, shower, wet, drop, reflection, flower, leaf, foliage, wildflower, flower, ground, hugging, forest, grove, nature, travel, scenic, green, water, spring, yosemite, national park, california, usa, north, entrance, stock

Forest After Morning Rain

Forest After Morning Rain

Forest After Morning Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft overcast light illuminates tall trees covered with moss following early morning rain in Yosemite Nataional Park, California.

I’ve had my eye on this little spot in the forest alongside the highway 120 route north entrance to the park – it is in the high section between the turn-off to Tuolumne Meadows and the beginning of the steeper descent toward the Valley through open terrain. I have a particular set of conditions in mind for the photograph I would eventually like to make at this location, and although those were not the conditions I found on this morning I stopped and made a few photographers here nonetheless.

The weather in early June of this year has been a bit unusual – at the time when thing usually shift over to the expected California weather pattern of long periods of clear blue skies and warm temperatures, instead we have had weeks of cloudy, cool, and often wet weather. (All in all, the latter tends to make for more interesting photography than the former!) As I drove into the park early on this morning the forest was still wet from the previous day’s rain and the overcast was already rebuilding towards another day of rain, and this made for intense and saturated forest color (especially the reddish-browns and greens of the moss and leaves) and wonderful diffused light.

As Yosemite subjects go, this one falls considerably short of “icon” status – but it is the sort of thing about the park that grows on me more and more.

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: forest, tree, trunk, moss, green, branch, bark, texture, vertical, litter, plant, leaf, rock, morning, overcast, light, grove, soft, filtered, light, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, spring, rain, cloudy, wet, yosemite, national park, california, north, highway, 120, dense, stock

Panther Beach Clean-up and Photography – and You are Invited!

Photographer Ivan Makarov recently emailed to let me know about an beach cleanup and photography event at Panther Beach on the Pacific Coast north of Santa Cruz. (Ivan, I have shot at Panther Beach – this past winter – and it is a really wonderful location! Proof below… ;-) Follow the link for more information.

Last Light, Panther Beach

Last Light, Panther Beach. Pacific Ocean North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.