Tag Archives: pine

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

Meadow and Young Trees, Morning

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Meadow and Young Trees, Morning
“Meadow and Young Trees, Morning” — A meadow interspersed with young trees ascends toward forest and ridges in morning light.

I have passed this spot on Tioga Pass Road for years and thought about making a photograph. I could only catch a brief glimpse while driving by since it is along a section of the roadway with no obvious pull-out. In mid-September it caught my eye again, especially with I saw haze and light beams in the trees. So I turned around, went back, and finally located a place to pull over a short walk away.

This part of the Yosemite High Sierra is full of little meadows like this one, stretching upwards along streams that descend from higher peaks. This one is full of young trees that are gradually filling in the meadow, and I suppose someday the meadow will be gone and the stream will flow through the forest.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Three Trees, Sunrise

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Three Trees, Sunrise
“Three Trees, Sunrise” — Three trees at Tuolumne Meadows in hazy sunrise light.

During the first half of September I spent a few days camping and photographing in the Tuolumne Meadows area. On two of those day I wandered into Tuolumne Meadows before sunrise. There was fog one day — not the one in this photograph — and haze from wildfire smoke on both. Here the trees, being close to the camera, have some intense color from the sunrise light, while the haze mutes the distant landscape and shifts its colors.

Some amount of wildfire smoke seems to come with the terrify in September and October in the Sierra, at least until a first good storm arrives. At its worst, the smoke can be thick enough to be unhealthy and to make photography a challenge. But much of the time it can lend an interesting muted color to everything, as it does here.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Trees, Boulders, and Dawn Fog

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Trees, Boulders, and Dawn Fog
“Trees, Boulders, and Dawn Fog” — Trees silhouetted against dawn light as fog rises above glacial boulders.

Late in the first half of September I spent a few days camping and photographing in the Yosemite high country. The weather was a bit challenging — cold, cloudy, and with rain at times. But those conditions are often more photographically interesting than typical summer blue sky days. I was up before dawn on this morning, and I was thrilled to discover thick fog blanketing frosty meadows.

My favorite Sierra Nevada season begins in September and can extend into the beginning of November. The pleasant, easy-going summer conditions begin to fade as the days get shorter, vegetation dries out, crowds disappear, weather fronts approach more often, and fall colors arrive.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Morning Trees

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Morning Trees
“Morning Trees” — A small group of pine trees at Tuolumne Meadows in bright morning light.

Previously I have mentioned that certain boulders, hillocks, bends in creeks, and trees in the Sierra are “old friends” of mine that I have visited regularly for decades. These trees are among those friends. It isn’t unusual for me to photograph Tuolumne Meadows in the early morning, and these trees stands at the west end of the meadow, positioned before a panorama of meadow, forest, and peaks.

To be honest, it was no longer exactly “early morning” when I made this photograph, at least not by photography standards. (“Early” means things like arising at 3:00am, setting out on a hike at 3:30am, or arriving at a location more than a half hour before sunrise.) The sun had risen above the peaks of the Sierra Crest, and it was making the atmospheric haze glow.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.