Tag Archives: peak

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer, Sabrina Basin

November 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 15 Comments

I wandered out onto this ridge above Sabrina Basin, a spot that I know for its unobstructed view of the valley and the peaks of the Sierra crest above Sabrina Lake, far up the canyon. I had my eyes on some rocky benches that run along the top of the ridge As I approached I saw that I wasn’t the only photographer with this idea. As I crossed the rocks toward the overlook, he was working my intended camera position, so I decided to sit back and let him finish. (The ridge wasn’t wide enough for both of us to work together there.)

As I waited, I thought there was something interesting about his position above the valley, his concentration on shooting, his all-blue outfit (shirt and jeans, on a cold and rainy day!), and that wide brimmed hat. So I decided to make a few photographs of him. We barely talked at all. I hoped to get his name, but that didn’t happen. The best I was able to do was give him a card, and offer him a copy of the photo if he contacted me. Never heard from him…

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Sunrise, Piute Crags

November 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Autumn morning light on Piute Crags, reflected in the shoreline waters of a Sierra Nevada lake.

I made a lot of photographs during the past few months, traveling to the Sierra and a number of other places frequently. I often go through the photographs from the most recent shoot and post images soon after, but when I’m on to the next adventure fairly quickly I don’t always have time to get to everything in one batch before I shoot the next one. Inevitably, some images get “left behind.” Things have slowed down just a bit, and now I’m finding time to go back through some of that earlier work and pull out a few more images that I like. This is one of them.

Folks who photograph in the eastern Sierra will likely recognize this location. The long, rugged ridge of Piute Crags is striking, especially in the morning light, more so in the fall when the aspens change color, and double-especially on such a fall morning when clouds are moving in and out of the scene. I’m not going to say much more about the location beyond telling a little story. As I made this photograph there were perhaps 50 photographers set up more or less tripod-to-tripod a ways away shooting the same general subject from the place where almost everyone shoots. Their location is, indeed, a beautiful spot and I’ve shot there myself. (Heck, I shot there later on this same trip, though at a time of day when the workshops had gone elsewhere.) But there is more than one way to photograph a scene, and with a bit of thought and some wandering around it is usually possible to find a perspective that isn’t quite the same as the familiar one.

(If you know where I stood, please resist the temptation to say too much. This precise spot could not withstand the stress of dozens of photographers. Thanks!)

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.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison

October 22, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 11 Comments

Finding this shot was just about as random a process as I can imagine. I was in the eastern Sierra to photograph aspens, and staying in Mammoth Lakes. I woke up very early without a really solid idea of where I’d shoot that morning, but started out heading for Rock Creek, where I had seen great aspen color a week earlier. As I left Mammoth and headed south on highway 395 I noticed low fog out in Owens Valley – Crowley Lake was pretty much covered and it appeared that there were bits of fog here and there above creeks and springs in the valley. This started to look more interesting to me than photographing aspens again, so I changed plans and headed out into Owens Valley, not knowing precisely where or what I might find but thinking it would involve fog and mist and early morning light.

I first stopped and photographed near a small pond along side the road. After shooting here a bit – mostly shots pointing back toward the Sierra crest – I recalled that I had been on some gravel roads a bit further north of my position, and I decided to do a bit of exploring. I turned off on the first road going north and followed it until I found another interesting road that dropped down into a small valley and crossed a creek on an old rickety bridge – I later figured out that this was Hot Creek. A cloud of mist and fog was lying above the path of the creek, periodically thickening and thinning, and because it was not deep the morning sun was still somewhat lighting the scene through the fog. At times the peaks of the Sierra crest would gradually resolve through the fog. I set up and waited and made some exposures as the fog rose and fell, increased and decreased.

Commentary, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

McGee Mountain and Little Alkali Lake, Dawn

October 21, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

There are higher peaks along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada – much higher! – but I can think of few that catch the dawn light more beautifully than McGee Mountain just north of McGee Creek in the area around Mammoth Lakes and Crowley Lake. The slopes of the mountain are open without obstruction to the dawn light as it works its way down from the peaks, and the light passes across the face and accents the relief of alternating valleys and aretes. On this early October morning an early season storm had left the upper slopes covered with snow, and beyond the slopes of McGee Creek Canyon leading up toward Mount Morgan are still in shade.

I photographed this scene from well out into Owens Valley, where I was almost alone apart from an occasional car passing by on the distant road – and apart from the bellowing beasts in a nearby herd of cattle! Steam rises from some of the many hot springs in this geothermally-active area of the eastern Sierra, and a bit of mist floats above the reflective surface of this alkali lake.

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