Tag Archives: patterns

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys

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Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn - Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys

Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light above the Buttermilks illumunates Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys under the clouds of an early autumn storm over the Sierra Nevada crest.

This is another of several exposures I made on this beautiful early October morning when I decided to abandon my plans to be at North Lake for dawn after spotting these astonishing clouds over the eastern Sierra as I drove through the Buttermilks on my way up into the Bishop Creek drainage. I drove out on gravel roads into the high desert until I found what looked like an interesting juxtaposition of near hills, mountains beyond, the peaks of the Sierra in the distance, and the clouds that were dropping light snow up higher in the range above.

Needless to say, the light and the cloud forms were constantly changing as I watched this scene. I waited until the closer rocky hills began to pick up a bit of a glow from the sun low in the eastern sky, and then I made a number of exposures as the sun struck lower on the mountains and as the patterns of light and shadow from racing clouds moved across the peaks.

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.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sunlit Outcropping and Erosion Patterns, Zabriskie Point

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Sunlit Outcropping and Erosion Patterns, Zabriskie Point

Sunlit Outcropping and Erosion Patterns, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stratified outcropping catches the morning sun light with eroded earthen patterns in the background – Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Yet another in my series of explorations of the details of the amazing geology at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. Here a small outcropping of harder, stratified material remains along the top of a very eroded hill between two gullies with more typically eroded textures extending into the distance in the background – all lit by early morning sunlight.

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.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Lake, Mirrored Reflection

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Alpine Lake, Mirrored Reflection
Cliff wall mirrored on the surface of a rockbound alpine lake in Sequoia National Park, California

Alpine Lake, Mirrored Reflection. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cliff wall mirrored on the surface of a rockbound alpine lake in Sequoia National Park, California

I just returned from a 9-day trans-Sierra backpack trip that passed by the lake on the route over Kaweah Gap as we travelled from Crescent Meadow on the west side of the Sierra to Whitney Portal on the east side. The lake is near the top of the approx. 2500′ climb from Upper Hamilton Lake to Kaweah Gap, a pass across the Great Western Divide into the area near the Kaweahs. After struggling up the steepest portion of the climb – thankfully done in morning shade – you top a small saddle and there it is in front of you. I remember my first visit 30 years ago – although I had seen the famous Ansel Adams photograph of these cliffs I did not know where they were located… until I topped this rise and saw the actual scene right before me.

Shooting the “classic” lake view is almost embarrassingly easy. Walk up to the edge of the lake on the trail and drop down to some nice rocky spots along the shoreline, take out tripod, aim at opposite cliff (one of the signature features of the location), make photographs. It is my impression that this is one of those places that can be good to shoot a bit later in the day – perhaps around mid-morning as the light begins to spill over the ridge and onto portions of the water, where it can illuminate some very interesting underwater rocks.

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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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Salt Flats Near Badwater

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Salt Flats Near Badwater

Salt Flats Near Badwater. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening on the salt flats near Badwater – Death Valley National Park.

I have to admit that this is a bit of a cliche photography location. I’ve been both lucky and unlucky when shooting here. In terms of photographs of the Panamint Range – which towers above the west side of Death Valley and is not really visible in this photo – I’ve been lucky: on several occasions I’ve had wonderful late afternoon clouds with light columns shining through as the sun dropped behind the mountains. On the other hand, I’ve found it difficult to shoot these formations on the salt flats. Earlier this year, I shot there with my my brother, who pointed me to a spot a bit south of where I had attempted to photograph these features in the past, and it turned to be a better location.

In my experience, photographing these “ridges on the salt flat” is a bit tricky. Continue reading Salt Flats Near Badwater →