Tag Archives: pine

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

Stained Granite Slabs, Small Tree

December 4, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary tree grows among broken slabs of stained granite, Yosemite National Park

I suppose that this photograph also is at least partly of the “brave little tree” school, since there is indeed a little tree standing in an improbable looking place at the far side of this jumble of exfoliated and broken granite slabs. I wouldn’t say, though, that the tree is the primary subject — I think that it is more of a “surprise” that you might see only after first registering the shapes, textures, and colors of the rocks that fill the frame. It also may help establish a sense of scale for the broken slabs, though there are aspects of this image that work to defeat that possibility, too.

I remember the general place where I made this photograph, and I might be able to narrow down the location a bit if I went back to my files to see what I shot before and after. But the specific spot probably doesn’t matter that much. It is in the Yosemite backcountry, in a large area of granite slabs and bowl-like terrain where many of the rocks are stained an unusual and unusually intense reddish-brown color. It had rained overnight and was still raining off and on, so I worked with the soft light that comes with the passing clouds, making photographs in between the passing showers.

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

Small Tree, Granite, Morning Sun

December 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small pine finds a foothold in a small crack on an immense glacier-sculpted granite slab, Yosemite National Park

This photograph is connected to quite a few others that I have posted recently, and in multiple ways. One of the subjects that I focused on during our time photographing at this Yosemite backcountry location was the many small trees growing tenuously in small cracks and pockets in this large bowl of granite and among nearby granite slabs. It seems almost a rule that in the natural world something will manage to find a way to grow in almost any location where growth is remotely possible. These trees certainly seem to illustrate that idea, as they sometimes seem to have nothing more than a thin crack in otherwise solid granite in which to put down roots. This one grows part way up the incline of a sloping bowl that faces west, so the morning light doesn’t arrive until rather late. I photographed as the line of sunlight worked its way across the tree and toward the textured slabs beyond.

I have heard a photographer friend humorously refer to photographs like this as “brave little tree” shots. It certainly is a popular concept. While I often like to think that photographs may speak simply as images whose components of light and texture and shape and color evoke an emotional response, it doesn’t escape my notice that photographs also, partially through the expectation that photographs contain true images of things, may also resonate in other ways — and that a “brave little tree” may evoke connections to other “brave little” things and ideas, and that these associations may be personal and specific to each viewer.

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

Granite Shoreline, Sunset Peak

December 1, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The last sunset light shines on a granite peak above granite outcroppings along a forest-lined subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

On the day after a long hike to our destination at a high subalpine lake, where we set up camp and settled in for a longish stay, we had gotten up on this morning and started the work of photographing here. The day began early, before sunrise, as we made our first get-acquainted photographs along the shoreline of the lake and then continued to photograph in to the morning hours. As is typical, we returned to camp once the beautiful morning light was replaced by the less compelling light of midday, where we enjoyed the camp rituals of sitting around and talking, sharing meals, taking care of camp chores, and formulating plans for evening photography. After (a very early) dinner, the late afternoon light was about to become interesting, and it was time to head out once again.

As is usually the case (and almost the necessity) among landscape photographers, we each mostly worked alone — though we also encountered one another at times as we wandered the area. We continued shooting as late afternoon turned toward early evening, with shadows lengthening and the color of the light warming. A few benign clouds appeared above nearby ridges as I photographed in quiet forested areas along the lake. The sun dropped toward the horizon, deepening the shadows where I was working, so I moved to a more open area where I could see a small granite peninsula, lakeside trees, and unnamed peaks on the ridge to the east as the last sun touched their summits and the light reflected on the lake’s surface. I made a few final photographs, the light faded, and I walked back towards camp in the evening quiet as darkness arrived.

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

Peninsula, Trees, Evening Light

November 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Evening light comes to a tree-dotted peninsula on a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

A subalpine Sierra Nevada lake like this one, where I photographed over the course of six days in September, is both a comforting source of familiarity and an opportunity to seek and discover new things. Anyone who has spent much time in the Sierra back county is familiar with lakes like this one. It is set in a very shallow bowl between higher ridges in most directions, a low and rock ridge in another, and a forested valley holding its outlet stream. This one is entirely surrounded by forest, dense and growing right to the shoreline in places, and sparse and rocky in others. A walk around the lake — and I made quite a few of these walks! — reveals marshy sections, places steep and rocky enough to make passage challenging, rocky outcroppings, views through trees, small granite islands, and more.

These walks almost inevitably brought us to the far end of the lake, near the marshy outlet, where this granite peninsula extends into the lake and supports ground cover and a few isolated trees. As we explored and photographed individually, it was not unusual for us to run into one another in this spot where there are so many interesting possibilities. The peninsula was a bit of an enigma for me. Its visual appeal was immediate — the individual trees standing in the light, the granite rocks, the open views of surrounding terrain, and its path away from the shore and out into the lake. But once there, I discovered that it was not as easy to photograph as I might have expected! Despite its obvious appeal, there were challenges — how to find an effective background, getting just the right light, and placing the individual components of the scene into a pleasing composition. On this evening I shot with a wide-angle lens and decided to work the curving shoreline that faced the late-day light.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: pine

Stained Granite Slabs, Small Tree

Small Tree, Granite, Morning Sun

Granite Shoreline, Sunset Peak

Peninsula, Trees, Evening Light

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.