Tag Archives: park

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

Patterns In Granite

Leave a comment
Patterns In Granite
Patterns in a section of Yosemite Valley granite

Patterns In Granite. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patterns in a section of Yosemite Valley granite

Of all the things that characterize and define Yosemite, rock may be the most important. The Valley itself is lined with huge granite* forms in the shapes of domes and cliffs and more, carved by water, glaciers, and slow erosion. Wandering about the Valley one eventually becomes aware that the granite “moves,” and that giant chunks have fallen from the surrounding heights and sometimes managed to travel a good distance into the valley — a sobering thought. This rock continues into the high country, where some of the same features are found, along with others — the glacial “erratics” left behind as ice retreated, places were rivers flow across smooth rock, meadows dotted with boulders.

The character of granite on the large scale is hard to miss, but its character close up is also fascinating. Many years ago, for a few years, I was a bit of a rock climber. As a climber one gets “up close and intimate” with rock, learning (and remembering the tactile qualities) of the rock — smooth, straight cracks, rough, covered by lichen, disintegrating, marked by water, and more. That may explain why this little spot caught my attention. Quite a few stories are in this rock. It lies at the base of some very large cliffs, suggesting its source. It is covered by lichen, part of the reason for the color variations. Stained streaks produce vertical lines, and one odd section, which must be harder than the rest, angles up from left to right.

  • A geologist friend has pointed out to me in the past that “granite” is not a technically correct blanket description for the rock of Yosemite. I’m using the term in the casual and familiar sense. And for those who get this far, did you notice a compositional link to the recent redwing blackbird photograph? :-)

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow

Leave a comment
Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow
Sun from behind an ice-rimmed granite monolith lights a row of trees at the edge of a meadow

Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sun from behind an ice-rimmed granite monolith lights a row of trees at the edge of a meadow

I made this photograph on a day of somewhat ephemeral conditions. There had been snow the day before — light snow, but in very cold conditions. On this morning the storm had passed, but it was so cold that a thin layer of snow was still there. It was in the meadows, on the branches of trees, and collected on every small irregularity on the granite cliffs above Yosemite Valley. At the moment I made this photograph the sunlight, shining through thin clouds, had just arrived on the closest trees, while those in the distance remained in cold shadows.

The light and the snow patterns on the face of the granite monolith are remarkable. The small amount of snow — perhaps only and inch or two — brought the patterns of cracks and small ledges into relief, making visible features that we might overlook on a warmer day And the light on the cliff is rather blue since the face is illuminated not by direct sunlight, but instead by the giant “light panel in the sky,” which happens to be very blue!

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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: Utah, Photographs: Yosemite

Old Tree, Snow Flurries

Leave a comment
Old Tree, Snow Flurries
Snow flurries begin around an old tree, Yosemite Valley

Old Tree, Snow Flurries. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow flurries begin around an old tree, Yosemite Valley

In the latter part of February I was very fortunate to be able to spend a full week in Yosemite National Park, mostly photographing in the Valley. (Thank you to Yosemite Renaissance for sponsoring my stay.) It was a cold week with a fair amount of snowy days — no heavy snow, but with the cold it fell all the way down to the elevation of the Valley and even lower nearby.

Late on this afternoon I had finished up some earlier projects and I was casting about for a final subject before the light faded. Since I was in this area I went to where I knew I could find this magnificent old tree, along with some other smaller trees growing along the Merced River. On this very cold afternoon the scene was quite gray, with clouds above and light snow beginning to fall, muting the details of the background forest and almost completely hiding the granite walls of the Valley.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Cliff in Sun, Trees In Shadow

Leave a comment
Cliff in Sun, Trees In Shadow
The edge of a granite face caught in morning sun, with snow-covered trees in shadow

Cliff in Sun, Trees In Shadow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The edge of a granite face caught in morning sun, with snow-covered trees in shadow

The little bit of sunlit granite cliff on the right side of this photograph has long intrigued me. When the light hits it a highlight is added to a scene that is often otherwise almost completely in shadow. The light only happens for a short period, since the sun has to rise above the thousands-of-feet-high cliff above and then find its way down at just the right angle. Basically, it is only going to happen in the morning at this time of year, and for a short time at that. On this day I photographed it just after new snow had fallen the night before, coating trees and granite with a thin layer of snow.

The color of this scene is perhaps also worth mentioning. I decided to “go with the blue” on this image. Deeply shaded areas that are illuminated by open sky are often far bluer than we might think, something that photographers soon learn to recognize. When we look at such a scene with our eyes and our brains visual processing system, our brain tells us that, for example, the snow in this scene is white. But objectively speaking it is very much NOT white — it is the blue of the sky. In many cases photographers — including me — will adjust the color of the blue shadows in post to make them a bit closer to how we recall the scene, but another option is to leave it just as blue as it actually is… which is what I’ve done here.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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