Tag Archives: pines

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Forest Above Loch Ness

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Forest Above Loch Ness
“Forest Above Loch Ness — “Forest with green moss along the Great Glen Way above Loch Ness, Scotland.

This photograph comes from the second-to-last day of our walk on Scotland’s Great Glen Way . Every day was different, but this one stood out in several ways. First of all, we hiked it “backwards.” On every other day we hiked toward our destination of Inverness. But this time we were dropped off north of Lewiston, where we were staying, and we walked back toward town. A few miles into the walk we encountered our most exposed highland terrain as we crossed a high, windy ridge and then descended to re-enter forest.

This spot along that descent was a lovely surprise. Much of the forest land we had walked through was dense with trees, blocking the light and cutting off distant views. But on this bench high above Loch Ness we found this open and softly lit section of forest carpeted with green moss. Through the trees and far below we could see Loch Ness.

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

Where Once a Forest Stood

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Where Once a Forest Stood
The skeletons of ponderosa pines at the edge of high desert.

Where Once a Forest Stood. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The skeletons of ponderosa pines at the edge of high desert.

Today I interrupt the stream of photos from our European travels (“Finally!,” a few of you say…) to share something from my first return to the Sierra and points east since we got home. The European trip was great — and I look forward to more like it — but I missed my mountains! There’s a lot more to write about that and about getting back “out there,” but I will save most of it for later posts.

On this morning I was camped above 9000′ in the Eastern Sierra, but I decided (for reasons including deteriorating weather) to head out along the eastern slopes of the range to photograph in the early light. After some less-than-satisfying photography of the eastern escarpment (wildfire smoke was an issue) I headed out into the high desert near Mono Lake and then into a remarkable grove of ponderosa pines, one of the largest (perhaps the largest) in existence. I was aware of the results of a wildfire here years ago, and I wanted to photograph the remains of burned forest, so I turned off on an unmarked route and ended up here, where dead trees still stand starkly against the desert landscape.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

September Rain

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September Rain
September rain falls on a Yosemite backcountry lake

September Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. September 14, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

September rain falls on a Yosemite backcountry lake

Autumn in the Sierra is time of wonderful transitions — it is my favorite time of year to be there. For the most part the weather is still beautiful, with warm days and pleasantly chilly evenings and early mornings. The light is special — it is hard to put my finger on the precise quality, but somehow it feels warmer and softer than in the summer. Meadows turn golden brown and many plants take on their autumn colors. It feels like everything is slowing.

There can also be storms. These are not the brief afternoon thunderstorms of summer. They are the first harbingers of winter — the large Pacific weather fronts that begin to push in and which will eventually bring winter snow. We had such a storm — though it was a gentle one — on our visit, and it rained off and on for the final two days of our stay. I made this photograph along the shoreline of “our” lake, with fall colors in the foreground and a passing shower in front of the distant peak.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Reflections, Trees and Rocks, Morning Light

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Reflections, Trees and Rocks, Morning Light
Reflections, Trees and Rocks, Morning Light

Reflections, Trees and Rocks, Morning Light. Yosemite National Park, California. September 19, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on shoreline trees and rocks at a back-country sub-alpine lake, Yosemite National Park.

I had the chance to shoot around this lake on three successive mornings. The first morning was, to some extent, more about wandering around and getting the feel of the place – though I did make photographs, too. But on the second and third mornings I had figured out what and when I wanted to photograph and I was able to more or less get right to work. Up before dawn, I walked to the far shore before the sun rose, where there was still frost on the shoreline meadows and I could shoot in the soft, early light. Soon, as the sun rose above the ridge to our east, the sun light began to make its way down to the lake, first hitting the tops of trees along the west shore, then lighting the shoreline itself, and eventually moving up the lake and lighting up trees, water, rocky islands, shoreline boulders, and the forest.

In situations like this there are several specific things that I look for and like to shoot. I love to photograph the backlit trees, pointing my camera almost directly toward the sun. The trees light up and their colors intensify. I also watch for forested slopes that climb to the east, like the one on the far side of the lake in this photograph. As the sun rises higher, the slanting beams of light begin to pick off the tops of the forest trees, and can still leave a darker background for those other backlit trees. Of course, such shooting does present a few challenges. Obviously, shooting straight into the light creates some serious flare issues, and I improvise all sorts of interesting ways to shield the lens from direct light: my hat, hands and arms held in the air, you name it. When shooting over the water it can be even trickier since you have “two suns” producing flare – the real sun in the sky, and the very intense reflected sun coming up from the water. Bugs can also be a problem! Just like the trees, shoreline mosquitos and flies also pick up that wonderful backlight… and when they are thick enough they can create little blurry stripes all over the frame. (This leads to loads of oh-so-fun work with the clone tool in post!)

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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