Tag Archives: pink

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

Colorful Pebbles, Weston Cove

October 27, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Colorful pebbles washed up near the water line at Weston Cove, Point Lobos.

This is another “wandering around on the beach with my eyes open” photograph, made at Weston Cove at Point Lobos. This little circular cove has a pebble beach so there are lots of small pebbles of all colors and shapes along the edge of the water. As I wander about this spot I find the pebbles fascinating, both visually and for the sound they make as they are dragged back toward the sea by the retreating waves. While there are pebbles everywhere – in every small hollow or crack, at the surf’s edge, even further up the “beach” where they were left by higher tides and storms – interesting juxtapositions of the pebbles are a bit harder to find. I was fascinated by this little collection, both because of the linear and curving relationships between their positions and because of the very different and colorful types of rock against the background of sandstone.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

McGee Mountain and Little Alkali Lake, Dawn

October 21, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

There are higher peaks along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada – much higher! – but I can think of few that catch the dawn light more beautifully than McGee Mountain just north of McGee Creek in the area around Mammoth Lakes and Crowley Lake. The slopes of the mountain are open without obstruction to the dawn light as it works its way down from the peaks, and the light passes across the face and accents the relief of alternating valleys and aretes. On this early October morning an early season storm had left the upper slopes covered with snow, and beyond the slopes of McGee Creek Canyon leading up toward Mount Morgan are still in shade.

I photographed this scene from well out into Owens Valley, where I was almost alone apart from an occasional car passing by on the distant road – and apart from the bellowing beasts in a nearby herd of cattle! Steam rises from some of the many hot springs in this geothermally-active area of the eastern Sierra, and a bit of mist floats above the reflective surface of this alkali lake.

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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.
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Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night

Dusk Clouds, Mount Shuksan

September 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Evening fog clouds shroud the summit of Mt. Shuksan above Picture Lake – Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

Since we were in the neighborhood – we passed right past it on our way down from Artist Point – my brother suggested that we stop and photograph the iconic view of Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake. Actually, as I understand it, the really iconic image is usually made about a month later when the slope along the far shore of the lake turns golden with fall foliage. I only knew the location from photographs, so I was surprised to find that it is a roadside lake with a boardwalk/trail to the typical shooting location! I understand that if I were to return in a month I would be shoulder to shoulder with scores of photographers – but on this evening we were initially the only ones there, though a couple others photographers eventually showed up.

When we arrived things did not look too promising in photographic terms. The peak of Shuksan was entirely socked in by clouds and fog, but my brother said that, in his experience, it was not uncommon for the fog to dissipate and rise as the day ends. (This was in line with my knowledge that the best light can often happen after the sun sets – and I’m always surprised at the number of photographers who pack up and leave before this happens.) As we watched, the saturated colors of the last moments of the day came on and, as if on cue, the clouds began to thin. This was perhaps the very last photograph I made. It was shot some time after the actual sunset and the conditions were quite dark. I thought that a very long post-sunset exposure might capture the diffused quality of the clouds as they moved across the face of the peak and that it might be possible to capture some of the very subtle post-sunset coloration. In the end this exposure was a bit longer than two minutes.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Yosemite

Abandoned Buildings, Eastern Sierra

August 8, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 8 Comments

Blood-red dawn light illuminates eastern Sierra Nevada peaks of Yosemite National Park and morning clouds above abandoned high desert cabins in the sage brush along highway 395.

Many who travel the eastern Sierra on highway 395 have no doubt seen these two abandoned buildings along the highway not far from Lee Vining, set against the background of the Sierra’s eastern escarpment along the border of Yosemite National Park. I’ve noticed them for years and have tried to photograph them a few times in the past.

On this late-July morning I had gotten up very early at my Tuolumne Meadows camp site and decided that there might be enough interesting clouds to warrant a trip down to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake for a sunrise shoot. However, I apparently didn’t get up quite early enough (actually, I miscalculated the time of dawn) since the sun began to rise above the horizon just before I turned east from 395 onto 120 to get to the lake. For a moment I vacillated – should I hurry on to get to Mono as soon after sunrise as possible (since the light gets there a few minutes later) or shoot whatever I could see right then and there? The intense red light made the decision for me and I quickly pulled over near these buildings and made a few exposures as the saturated and very red morning light hit the mountains and the clouds.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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