Tag Archives: peninsula

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

Morning Shadows and Symmetry

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Morning Shadows and Symmetry
“Morning Shadows and Symmetry” — The line between morning light and shadow descends a talus slope toward a lake, revealing mirror image symmetries.

Getting out of your tent before dawn isn’t easy when it is cold and dark outside and you have to leave a warm sleeping bag. But if you don’t rise early you miss some of the most sublime moments of the day in the high country. And, I promise, once you are up and about you’ll be glad that you made the effort.

On this morning it was almost too dark to photograph when I unzipped the tent, and for the first half hour or longer I photographed in the soft blue hour light. Eventually the first direct sunlight touched peaks high above me and gradually worked its way down the steep slopes toward “my” lake. (At about the time I made this photograph, my non-photographer backcountry partners were starting to awaken in their tents on the peninsula at the right.)

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Shoreline, Dawn

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Mono Shoreline, Dawn
“Mono Shoreline, Dawn” — Dawn at Mono Lake near Black Point.

At some point on virtually every visit to the Eastern Sierra I end up photographing at Mono Lake… again. I’ve photographed the place for decades, but I still find new ways to see it on almost every visit. This time I headed to the northwest ‘corner” of the lake to watch the sun rise, and I got lucky with the beautiful sky colors and their reflection on the water.

I like photographing this subject early in the day when, with few exceptions, it is quiet and the air is often still. Sunrise light here is often special. Because the Mono Basin is vast and open to the east, there’s plenty of atmosphere (and haze!) to pick up the sunrise colors, and the sky can be very impressive. On top of that, these colors reflect on the surface of the lake. Because the large-scale scenic elements are backlit and so far away, details are usually muted, and the landscape can easily lean towards a kind abstraction.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Evening

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Black Point, Mono Lake, Evening
“Black Point, Mono Lake, Evening” — Evening clouds above Mono Lake and Black Point.

I made this photograph on an autumn evening after incoming clouds had ended my aspen photography for the day. I decided to make a quick run down to the shoreline of Mono Lake to see if there might be any interesting dusk light. The conditions were a bit subtle, but I think that they are actually representative of what we’re likely to see at Mono in the evening when clouds over the Great Basin dissipate and the lake is in shadow.

This particular bit of shoreline has long intrigued me. (I’m not the only one!) In many places along its edge we look straight out at the immensity of this lake, but in this spot we instead have a view along the shoreline, past bays and Black Point, toward volcanic islands and then desert mountains in the far distance.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Monterey Cypress, Fog

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Monterey Cypress, Fog
“Monterey Cypress, Fog” — Summer fog drifts across monterey cypress trees at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This was a wonderful morning at Point Lobos in more than one way. It was my escape from the oppressive inland heat — here is was 58 degrees with thick fog rolling across the landscape. It was not at all crowded, at least not at first, since I managed to arrive when the reserve opened. I spent the morning ambling slowly along trails near bluffs along the north shore, where Monterey cypress trees cling to the edges of the cliffs above the ocean.

This photograph was more of a challenge than it might appear. The textures and colors of the trees were quite attractive, but the gently glowing fog was quite a lot brighter. This is one of those photographs that I expose for what I intend to do in post, and not to try to “capture” the literal scene in the camera. I was faced with the (common) challenge of an extremely wide dynamic range, so I exposed for the bright fog and planned to bring back the details in the shadows among the trees in post.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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