Tag Archives: peak

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

Exfoliation

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Exfoliation
Granite slabs littered with exfoliated boulders, Yosemite Naitonal Park.

Exfoliation. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Granite slabs littered with exfoliated boulders, Yosemite Naitonal Park.

As is our pattern in the backcountry, by late afternoon each of photographers in our group had “headed out” find subjects to photograph in late-day light. There was a lot to work with in the area surrounding the lake where we were camped; low ridges, the shoreline of the lake, forest, meadow with boulders, granite slabs, and even actual mountains if you walked far enough.

I decided to wander to the other side of our lake, where a granite dome rise above the water… and dropped of precipitously into a gigantic canyon on the other side. I decided that I would approach from one side, cross the summit close to sunset, and then return to camp by descending a ridge on the other side. The angle of the light was quite low as I crossed granite slabs to a low spot between the dome and another low hill, and the slabs were covered with boulders that appeared to be remnants of the process of exfoliation.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cathedral Peak, Autumn Sunset

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Cathedral Peak, Autumn Sunset
Cathedral Peak in early autumn sunset light.

Cathedral Peak, Autumn Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cathedral Peak in early autumn sunset light.

Everyone needs a photograph of Cathedral Peak at sunset, right? Although I’ve been to this place quite a few times — in a wide range of circumstances — I haven’t photographed the peak all that much. Perhaps it is because I haven’t often climbed up these slopes above the lake at this time of day. But on this visit some years ago, I did find myself in the right spot at the right time as a result of doing a bit of late-afternoon exploration.

The peak presents lots of opportunities for beautiful late-day light essentially at the end of the Cathedral range, leaving lower terrain open to the west and allowing the evening sun to shine directly on the mountain. Because the bowl is higher than surrounding terrain, gaining a it of elevation reveals lots of distant peaks, too, and the lake can reflect the mountain’s colors. Because this visit was late in the season — just a few days before the end of September — the meadows are golden-brown, too.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset

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Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset
The last light of the day touches the top of Sheep Peak in the McCabe Lakes Basin, Yosemite National Park.

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day touches the top of a peak in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park.

This is not a new photograph — rather, it is a reconsideration of one that I made almost a decade ago and recently looked it with new eyes. The location is in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park, in a somewhat remote area characterized by high ridges, rocky terrains, and some lovely lakes. I was there with a group of friends and photographers for a few glorious days during which we took our time and explored the surrounding terrain.

We were camped at a lower lake among forest trees, in a location that gave us shelter but also access to tons of higher, more alpine terrain. Often we headed off individually to photograph, but on this late afternoon we all headed to the same place, ascending a slope at the upper end of “our” lake to arrive at the next lake up the valley. Sequences of lakes like this are common in many backcountry areas, and I enjoy the individual personalities of the lakes as they are affected by terrain and elevation. This lake was surrounded by alpine meadows, very small and sparse trees, lots of talus, and towering peaks.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves, Near and Far

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Aspen Leaves, Near and Far
A group of autumn aspen leaves against a background of aspen forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Leaves, Near and Far. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of autumn aspen leaves against a background of aspen forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

At some point during almost every aspen season I end up looking away from the big views and getting up close to the colorful leaves. I can think of several reasons that I do this. One, of course, is simply that the leaves are a fascinating subject, with almost infinite variations of color and pattern that are expanded by the many qualities of light that can be found in aspen groves. Another is that at some point, to be honest, the big views can become a bit to… familiar. I’m not referring here just to the lovely iconic views that are familiar — and which I photograph, too. At some point, the giant groves of beautiful trees with bright colors and white trunks may just start to look a bit too much… the same.

I was in a very familiar location when I made this series of close-up aspen leaf photographs, a place that I’ve been photographing for well over a decade — long enough to watch it change from a usually-quiet place to one that can be just a bit overrun. This grove, with which I’m also quite familiar, was in excellent form when I was there. The leaves included almost every possible color in the spectrum from green through yellow and orange to red, with a wide variety of leaf patterns. There was soft, luminous light intensifying the colors, and by moving the camera position just a bit I could find all kinds of variations in the out-of-focus background areas.

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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