Tag Archives: peaks

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Sierra Morning

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Eastern Sierra Morning
Morning light on the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada under stormy skies.

Eastern Sierra Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada under stormy skies.

This photograph was made mere moments after another of the eastern Sierra Nevada escarpment that I shared recently. That photograph included the first, warm-tone light of the new day. This one comes after that initial golden hour light has left the highest peaks — though a bit of it remains in the lower foreground — and these formations are illuminated by somewhat harsher light. It was a remarkable morning, with conditions changing with extreme rapidity. The gently curving wave cloud in the previous photograph had, by the time I made this one, turned into a very dark layer beyond the crest.

There is another background story related to this series of photographs — a story that is partly about photography and partly about learning to know places. I first went to this location quite a long time ago, almost by accident the first time. Intrigued, I returned frequently when I had a moment, and as a result I saw the place in rather varied conditions. I began to get a sense not only of what I actually saw, but also of how this landscape might respond to conditions that I did not encounter. Eventually this served me well, and more than once I’ve aborted other photographic plans to go to this spot based on nothing more than a hunch about what the conditions might be like.

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

From Lake to Peaks

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From Lake to Peaks
Light on a rocky saddle at the upper end of a subalpine lake beneath rugged peaks, John Muir Wilderness.

From Lake to Peaks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light on a rocky saddle at the upper end of a subalpine lake beneath rugged peaks, John Muir Wilderness.

This was the view from my “front porch” during a week of backcountry photography in the Eastern Sierra during the summer of 2019, the last backcountry trip I managed before the shutdown cancelled most plans for 2020. Our group of (mostly) photographers camped near timberline in the John Muir Wilderness, photographing the surrounding landscape daily in a wide range of conditions.

Eastside Sierra locations create different photographic conditions than those to the west of the crest. The sharper profile here, as the range rises abruptly for high desert to ridges that can top 14, 000′, is wild and spectacular, and the east-facing escarpment is in the first morning light. But there are challenges, too. For example, scenes often fall into shadow well before sunset. In this location the ridge angles enough to the west and northwest that some sunlight sweeps across the face of the peaks late in the day, and a gap to the west allowed some of that light to fall on the rocky saddle beyond the water at the bottom of the frame.

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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Southern California

From The Panamints to the Sierra

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From The Panamints to the Sierra
The distant Sierra Nevada peaks are visible from the crest of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park.

From The Panamints to the Sierra. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The distant Sierra Nevada peaks are visible from the crest of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park.

There is a misconception out there that “you can see the highest point in the 48 states from the lowest point in the 48 states” if you visit Death Valley. This is sometimes shortened: “You can see Mount Whitney from Death Valley.” Sorry to say, but that isn’t quite true. However the truth is pretty impressive nonetheless — from elevated locations in Death Valley National Park you can see both the lowest and highest spots.

I made this photograph early in the morning from one such location. Death Valley itself lay behind my camera position, many thousands of feet below this high ridge. And there in the distance are the peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada, along the eastern edge of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Between these points is a remarkable stretch of very rugged and dry landscape with only a few easy access points to most of it.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Peaks, Dawn

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Lake and Peaks, Dawn
The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

Lake and Peaks, Dawn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

There is an earlier photograph of this scene that is very similar to this one, so similar in composition that you might have to see them side-by-side in order to recognize the differences. Due to exposure challenges (deeply shadowed foreground and brightly lit peaks) I made a series of exposures. Recently, while working on a project, I went through the group of images again and decided that this one had some promise, too. I think I’ve decided that I like this one better now!

Our group was camped for a week at this location, a place almost completely surrounded by high, rocky terrain that extended all the way to the Sierra crest. It is a lovely place, full of varied subjects. In fact, I made this photograph less than a minute’s walk from my tent! It almost seems like cheating when I can roll out of my sleeping bag in the morning, crawl out of the tent, walk a 100 feet and start photographing.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.