Tag Archives: range

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees and Cliff, Morning

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Trees and Cliff, Morning - Morning light spills over a high ridge to back light trees near Steelhead Lake.
Morning light spills over a high ridge to back light trees near Steelhead Lake.

Trees and Cliff, Morning. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 16. 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light spills over a high ridge to back light trees near Steelhead Lake.

This photograph was made from a point perhaps ten feet (or less!) from my bivy sack. We were camped at out-of-the-way Steelhead Lake, up above McGee Canyon and off the main trail to McGee Lakes and McGee Pass. While I had looked up McGee Canyon from the trailhead before – almost every year while photographing aspens, in fact – this was the first time that I had backpacked up this route and had a chance to actually explore the area. We ended up staying at this lake for two nights, providing time to do a bit of exploration and to see certain subjects that I might have missed with a shorter visit.

I had seen and photographed (though in a different way) this little clump of lakeside trees the morning before, but after thinking about them a bit more I felt that I’d like to shoot them again the next morning. The light at this lake is a bit tricky in that there is a very high ridge to the south and east that blocks the light until quite late in the morning. No morning golden hour shots at this lake! The ridge holds two of the four “railroad baron” peaks that surround Pioneer Basin – Crocker and Stanford. (The other two are Hopkins and Huntington.) A few years ago I had investigated Pioneer Basin on a separate trip and had stood on top of this very ridge and looked down towards this year’s camp. In any case, I had an idea to shoot the trees against backlight, and almost as soon as the sun appeared above this ridge I went to work. I had to shoot essentially straight into the sun in order to get the glowing atmosphere in the canyon beyond the first ridge, and even with a long focal length I was barely able to keep my hand out of the frame as I shaded to front of the lens.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range

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Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range - Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.
Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Dana Fork Meadow, Cathedral Range. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden late-summer evening light on a small meadow along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, with the Cathedral Range in the distance.

Yet more golden pre-autumnal light in the Yosemite Sierra! The scene is one of the many areas of subalpine meadow bordered (and sometimes being invaded by) forest trees found throughout the higher regions of Yosemite National Park. This particular bit of hilly and meadowy terrain was easier to access at the end of this dry season as the stream I crossed to get to this spot was very low. I shot during the last hour of the day as the sun angle became quite low, casting foreground shadows and softening details of more distant features in the seasonal haze.

The distant ridge is the Cathedral Range, with the iconic form of Cathedral Peak silhouetted at the far right. This was the kind of day that most often comes to mind when I think of early fall in the high Sierra – though the actual start of autumn was about a week away when I made the photograph. The weather was relatively warm for this elevation, and it had been mostly sunny all day. The early evening was softened by the haze and the golden hour light accentuated the golden brown colors of the meadow grasses and plants. Something about this time of year seems quieter and more peaceful than the main summer season – I’m not sure if it is the passing of the explosive summer growth period, the slowing of creeks, something in the wind or the light, or simply the knowledge that summer is ending.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and Meadow, Morning

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Trees and Meadow, Morning - Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.
Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

Trees and Meadow, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late season golden morning light on trees at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.

It is probably no secret that there are certain kinds of light that especially appeal to me. Among my favorite is early morning sunlight, shining through a bit of atmospheric haze, and illuminating trees. On top of that, I’m a big fan of the warm golden-brown tones of September and autumn in the Sierra. With all of that in mind, how could I resist this subject?

I was in Tuolumne Meadows for a couple of nights in mid-September, with two main goals in mind. First, I wanted to spend a few days at altitude before heading over to the east side to meet friends for a short pack trip up into McGee Canyon. Second – or perhaps this should be first – I wanted to do some photography in the area along Tioga Pass Road between roughly Olmsted Point and the pass itself. I arrived late the first day, with just enough time to set up camp, grab something to eat, and head out to shoot the evening light. I was up reasonably early the next morning and out and about looking for subjects before the sun came up. I decided to stick fairly close to the meadows this time, and after heading to the west end and looking back I saw this beautiful warm light coming across the meadow as the sun topped the crest near Mount Dana, and silhouetting a small group of tall trees at the meadow’s edge.

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.

Commentary, Locations

Almost Time for Eastern Sierra Aspen Color

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Aspen Thicket, Bishop Creek - Bright yellow autumn leaves festoon a dense aspen thicket along Bishop Creek near South Lake, California.
Aspen Thicket, Bishop Creek – Bright yellow autumn leaves festoon a dense aspen thicket along Bishop Creek near South Lake, California.

Earlier today I posted my first photos of fall color from the 2012 season, so it seems like a good time to re-share my overview of photographing the Eastern Sierra aspen color, “Sierra Nevada Fall Color – Coming Sooner Than You Think!” The article gives a general outline of where you might look for aspen color in areas from about Carson Pass south to just below Bishop, and also goes into some ideas, both technical and aesthetic, about how you might photograph this subject. I first posted the article three years ago, and I’ve updated it each year since then.

The “coming sooner than you think” part of the article’s title seems especially appropriate this year. Although one can never be absolutely certain how the color change will play out or when it will start and end, there are signs that things may be a bit different this year. The main thing is that some color seems to have appeared a bit earlier than usual. I found some interesting color (though distinctly short of peak color) on a three-day backpacking trip into McGee Canyon on September 14-16 this year – and that seems significantly earlier than I normally expect. I have also heard some second- and third-hand reports of a bit of interesting color already developing in a few other aspen areas.

(9/25/12 update: Various sources who have been in the Sierra since I wrote the original post or who are there now are generally reporting that the color transition has indeed begun a bit ahead of schedule this season. While the progress of aspen color can never be precisely predicted, I’d plan on erring on the side of arriving a bit early this year – in fact, that’s precisely what I plan to do!)

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email