Tag Archives: obscure

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees and Fog, After the Storm

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Trees and Fog, After the Storm
Drifting fog obscures trees in rocky alpine terrain as a Sierra summer storm clears.

Trees and Fog, After the Storm. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Drifting fog obscures trees in rocky alpine terrain as a Sierra summer storm clears.

Later this evening the sky would explode into spectacular color as our storm began to break up and clear. But earlier, when I made this photograph, there were still plenty of clouds around, and much of the surrounding landscape was obscured as they drifted across peaks and ridges, and passed between trees in the forest. I went to a high place with a 360-degree view, set up my camera, and enjoyed the show.

I spent a lot of time focusing on this section of the panorama, a spot where sparse trees were growing on rocky ledges, apparently gaining just enough purchase to put down roots in cracks in the granite. At times the fog would drift back and forth, momentarily revealing details of the trees and even the higher ridges beyond. But when I made this photograph the scene was nearly obscured, and even the frontmost trees were half-hidden by the drifting clouds.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Travel

Edge of the Pacific

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Edge of the Pacific
Boulders and surf under clearing fog along the Big Sur coast.

Edge of the Pacific. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders and surf under clearing fog along the Big Sur coast.

This photograph likely looks a bit… ambiguous. In fact, it was that sort of day along this section of the California coast. I’m generally a fan of fog when I go to photograph there, but getting just the right amount of fog in the right places takes a bit of luck — we don’t control that! I was hoping for the kind of day that starts with thick, mysterious fog but then transitions to clearing, gradually revealing features as the sun begins to appear. But that fog never fully cleared. (At one point as I was photographing a disappointed tourist stopped and more or less asked me where the Pacific Ocean was and whether or not he might be able to see it.)

Later in the afternoon the fog did begin to diminish a bit, but it remained right up against the coast. In many places when I positioned myself to photograph over the ocean, the sun was shining on the hills directly behind me as I pointed the camera into the murk at the edge fo the land. In this spot the fog had sufficiently thinned right at the coast and I was able to make out rocks right at the water’s edge… but the fog obscured and muted the more distant ocean. That distant, fuzzy line near the top of the frame is some vague, opaque combination of the horizon and fog.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Dunes, Sandstorm, and Mountains

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Dunes, Sandstorm, and Mountains
A Death Valley sandstorm builds above sand dunes, obscuring distant desert mountains.

Dunes, Sandstorm, and Mountains. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Death Valley sandstorm builds above sand dunes, obscuring distant desert mountains.

Once again I am discovering how many promising photographs get left behind when I first assess them shortly after making the photographs… and how valuable it is to revisit the original files later on. I typically do a year-end review of the previous year’s raw files, but even then I miss a few. So I suppose that there is at least one good thing to come from the limits on photography in the pandemic era — the extra time available to go back and take a look at the old files with new eyes.

For the past week or two I have been digging into photographs from the late winter and early spring of 2013. These images include Death Valley photographs from that year’s annual visit to the park. On this day the ubiquitous Death Valley winds had risen, and a sandstorm was developing above the upper valley, blowing sand and dust southward toward these dunes. The wind was gusty, and rather than filling the atmosphere with uniform haze, tall clouds of dust and sand rose high into the sky as they traversed the landscape.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Desert Mountains, Dust Storm

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Desert Mountains, Dust Storm
A desert dust storm obscures Amargosa Range mountains and ridges, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains, Dust Storm. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A desert dust storm obscures Amargosa Range mountains and ridges, Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley dust storms are beautiful and terrible things. They are, from an objective point of view, very unpleasant. The wind alone can make it difficult to do much of anything, especially photography. The dust gets into everything, including camera equipment and your eyes, and is a constant, uncomfortable presence. A really bad dust storm is one of those things that helpfully remind us of how small and insignificant we are in this grand landscape.

The dust storm on this late afternoon was approaching that level. Having seen a few of these in Death Valley, there were a few things that were different about this one, most notably that the wind was carrying the thick dust into place where I don’t usually see it, including far up into the Amargosa Mountain range. It was so windy and dusty in the spot where I stopped to make the photograph that I was only able to cower behind the shelter of my vehicle just long enough to make a few exposures.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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