Tag Archives: rain

Autumn Foliage and Rain, Merced River Near Cathedral Rocks

Autumn Foliage and Rain, Merced River Near Cathedral Rocks

Autumn Foliage and Rain, Merced River Near Cathedral Rocks. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn foliage lines the riverbanks as rain falls on the Merced River near Cathedral Rocks – Yosemite Valley.

One more – probably the last – in the series of photographs* of this scene made from the bridge near El Capitan Meadow. In this one the rain, which had diminished to mere sprinkles when I began to shoot from this location, began to return in earnest. The surface of the river has lost is reflectivity and is cloudy in this photo. If you look closely (or inspect the print) you can see the raindrops on the surface of the water. This was pretty much the story of this entire weekend of photography. It rained most of the time, occasionally hard. I did quite a bit of my photography between showers and under improvised rain protection.

Although this was photographed near El Capitan Meadow, the rock face beyond the river and the trees is not El Capitan. It is Cathedral Rocks, a large formation that is almost directly across the Valley from El Capitan and a bit east of Bridalveil Fall. If it were located anywhere else where it was not dwarfed by El Capitan, it would be regarded as a very imposing face it its own right.

* The previous two related photographs are here and here

keywords: fall, autumn, foliage, leaves, trees, forest, grove, bank, river, bank, merced, cathedral, rocks, cliff, face, rain, precipitation, drops, grass, el capitan, meadow, float, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, sierra, nevada, mountains, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, stock, mist, cloud

Tree and Cliff, Yosemite Valley

Tree and Cliff, Yosemite Valley

Tree and Cliff, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lone tree growing against a cliff face in Yosemite Valley near the Ahwahnee Hotel.

I often walk along the north wall of the Valley between Yosemite Village and the Ahwahnee looking for interesting rocks, trees and plants, or seasonal waterfalls – especially in fall and spring. This time I had been shooting an oak tree against this section of the lower cliff when I spotted this less colorful tree nearby and, on a whim, decided to shoot a few frames. (The conditions were "interesting." It rained all weekend and was sprinkling as I made this photograph.)

keywords: tree, fir, cliff, rock, crack, root, rock, lichen, leaves, green, brown, trunk, rain, wet, ahwahnee, hotel, yosemite, valley, national park, scenic, landscape, nature, travel, fall, autumn, california, usa, stock

Three Umbrellas, Yosemite Valley View

Three Umbrellas, Yosemite Valley View

Three Umbrellas, Yosemite Valley View. Yosemite Valley, California. November 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Visitors with red and green umbrellas on a rainy day at Yosemite Valley View.

It was late in the day and I decided to take a quick run up to Wawona Tunnel Valley View. Although it was cold and wet and a bit dismal, there was no shortage of photographers… and even a few other visitors. Since I’ve shot this scene many times, I’m a bit jaded I suppose – I don’t photograph it unless it is really quite special. This evening wasn’t quite up to that standard, but the scene of these umbrella bearing valley viewers caught my attention.

“Jaded’ as I may be, I do understand the deep attraction that this place and this view have for visitors. Since I get to stand in this spot often, I have the opportunity to see and sometimes talk with people who have dreamed of standing in front of this view, who are there for the first time, and who have travelled great distances to get there. As someone I spoke with this weekend did, they often use words like “spiritual”to describe the experience. I understand, and I think the fact that people will stand here in freezing rain on a day when most of the view is blocked by clouds is further evidence of this.

keywords: people, man, woman, view, visitor, tourist, photographer, umbrella, red, green, overlook, viewpoint, rain, cloud, mist, forest, fog, tree, waterfall, bridal veil, el capitan, yosemite, valley, view, national park, california, usa, travel, landscape, stock, no parking, sign, scenic, weather

Subalpine Lakes, Afternoon Showers

“Subalpine Lakes, Afternoon Showers” — Sun breaks through the clouds to illuminate lakes and surrounding meadows in a valley near Mammoth Lakes, California

This is an older shot that I recently realized has not yet been posted here. There is a bit of an ironic story behind it. A few days earlier some friends and I had started on a 14-day backpack trip along a long section of the John Muir Trail. (It included the one remaining short section that I have not hiked!) After about four days on the trail we arrived at Purple Lake, a bit south of Mammoth, where I began to feel a bit under the weather. Because the next portion of the hike was across a section of the JMT that doesn’t provide many quick exits in case of emergency, I decided that I would evaluate my condition the next morning before continuing.

I still didn’t feel great when I awoke so I regretfully left my group and backtracked towards Duck Pass to exit to Mammoth Lakes and head home. It was only due to this situation I found myself descending this trail below Duck Pass in wonderful weather of mixed thundershowers alternating with bursts of sunlight — which put me in the right place at the right time to see this beautiful scene as sunlight and rain alternately swept across these lakes.


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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