Tag Archives: pioneer

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Country Meadow, Evening Light

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High Country Meadow, Evening Light
Late-day light on a stormy evening high in the John Muir Wilderness

High Country Meadow, Evening Light. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-day light on a stormy evening high in the John Muir Wilderness

For more than the past week, we occupied a Sierra Nevada backcountry landscape full of surprises and riches — more than enough variety of conditions and subjects to keep us busy. A group of eight of us hiked over a 12,000+’ Sierra crest pass (with assistance from pack train support) and set up a base camp from which we set out each day to explore and photograph the spectacular surroundings. The pleasures of such a trip extend beyond photography — to include contemplation of this landscape, occasionally without a camera, and the joy of sharing the high country with a small circle of like-minded friends. This time it was even more special, as Patricia Mitchell returned to the back-country with me for the first time in many years.

I made this photograph on an evening when late day sunlight filled this subalpine meadow and storm clouds cast shadows over the distant peaks. There was a trail to this meadow, but it was hardly necessary, and once in the meadow we were free to explore all of it and the surrounding domes and peaks — which we did on many mornings and evenings. Those with Sierra Nevada high country experience may be surprised that this photograph was made near the end of August when meadows are typically turning golden brown. Last winter’s extraordinary snowfall delayed the onset of summer conditions, and the meadows were still green and wildflowers were everywhere.

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: Sierra Nevada

Beaver Pond, McGee Creek

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Beaver Pond, McGee Creek - A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.
A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.

Beaver Pond, McGee Creek. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 16, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A beaver pond floods a low area of McGee Creek below the peaks at the edge of Pioneer Basin.

Unlike some so-called beaver ponds in the Sierra, this one really does appear to be the home  of beavers. If you look closely near the far bank of the pond, just left of center, you can see the distinctive peaked beaver den.

This spot was a bit of a landmark on the trail up McGee Canyon on my mid-September backpack trip to Steelhead Lake. Before this the trail mostly crossed relatively dry and open terrain, but starting at this point there was more forest cover, and the valley gradually began to become more rocky and narrower. There is just a bit of early fall color in this photograph. The plants around the pond have obviously gone brown, and  some of the aspens and other brush ascending the slopes of the canyon are just barely beginning to change – what I sometimes call the “lime green” stage where it starts to become clear that the real color change is not far away. The distant tall ridge marks the boundary between the McGee Creek drainage and Pioneer Basin. I’m not positive, but I think that the two high points on the ridge might be Mounts Stanford and Crocker,  part of a group of four peaks ringing Pioneer Basin that are named after the four “railroad barons, the other two being Huntington and Hopkins.

Unlike most of my mountain photographs, this was essentially a handheld “snap” – though made with a good camera and lens. When I’m hiking I carry my camera and two lenses in a chest strap mounted front carrier so that I can make some photographs while on the move without having to remove my pack. This sort of shot, made at a time of less than optimum light, is an example of the sort of thing that I’ll occasionally shoot that way.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.