Tag Archives: pass

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Marmot and Rocks

June 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A marmot with a quizzical expression emerges from rocks at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, California.

Since it is a busy week and I have this photo sitting here on the computer, I have declared it another “furry mammal photograph day.” This is the third, and perhaps the last for now, of the marmot photographs I made at Olmsted Point on my early June trip over Tioga Pass Road. The marmots at Olmsted are quite used to human presence – and they better be since they live in rocks right below a very popular overlook and parking area. Although it wasn’t that busy on this day when the road first opened for the season, a month or two from now this will be a very popular place with Yosemite tourists.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/125 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, marmot, mammal, fur, alpine, animal, wildlife, nature, creature, face, quizzical, expression, eye, olmsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, tuolumne, meadows, california, usa, north america, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake

June 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Black and white photograph of early season ice on the surface of Tenaya Lake with high granite peaks and domes beyond, Yosemite National Park, California.

A long-lens version of the classic view of Tenaya Lake from Olmsted Point, made on the day that Tioga Pass Road opened for the season and while ice still covered almost all of the surface of the lake. Peaks and domes tower above the lake, including the heights of Mount Conness near the upper left. In a larger version of this photograph, many seasonal waterfalls are visible along the sides of the cliffs and domes.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 210mm
ISO 200, f/5.1, 1/400 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, california, usa, north america, tenaya, lake, dome, conness, peak, ridge, snow, ice, field, forest, granite, cliff, june, olmsted, point, landscape, nature, cloud, sky, black and white, monochrome, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, trans, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Mammoth Peak and Ice-Covered Tioga Lake

June 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A late winter scene with ice-covered Tioga Lake and snow-capped Mammoth Peak at Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California.

The view of Mammoth Peak from the Tioga Pass area is a favorite of mine, and I rarely cross the pass without stopping to at least take a look. My favorite light on Mammoth Peak comes late in the afternoon when it strikes the peak from the side, bringing the textures into relief, especially when there are still snow patches.

The conditions in this photograph are fleeting, in that the photograph was made during the brief interval between full high-country winter and the “summer” season, during which the lakes quickly become free of ice. On this early June day the late afternoon shadows of clouds and nearby peaks fall across the mostly frozen surface of Tioga Lake which is marked by a few areas that are beginning to melt out.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 149mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/200 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, california, usa, north america, tioga, tuolumne, lake, kuna, crest, mammoth, peak, snow capped, ice, covered, frozen, pass, road, trans-sierra, highway, 120, sky, clouds, shadows, forest, trees, ice, pond, melt, shadow, reflection, nature, winter, spring, season, thaw, stock, landscape, nature

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Marmot, Olmsted Point

June 8, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A marmot emerges from rocks near Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park, California.

I’m going for two in a row of the furry animal shots. This marmot is among those who live in the rocks at Olmsted Point, the iconic roadside viewpoint just before Tenaya Lake along the Tioga Pass Road. I may have had my very first “marmot experience” at this very spot many years ago when my father took me and my brother camping at Tuolumne Meadows. After many intervening decades of real back-country travel, I might be a bit jaded about roadside marmots… but it was a kick to have a chance to photograph this marmot and its partner as they ducked in and out of the rocks below the parking lot.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 350mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, mammal, marmot, animal, wildlife, face, eyes, mouth, head, fur, nature, rock, olmsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, trans, california, usa, north america, alpine, stock

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