Tag Archives: range

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Oak, Cliff Face

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Spring Oak, Cliff Face
A spring black oak silhouetted against El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.

Spring Oak, Cliff Face. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring black oak silhouetted against El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.

Last weekend we were in Oakhurst, along the southern entrance to Yosemite, for the opening of a show featuring Patty’s flower photography. We were close to the park for days, but on most of them we were occupied with activities related to the show — delivering prints, setting up the exhibit, meeting with others involved in the show, attending the opening. Consequently, while the trip was related to photography… it didn’t offer many opportunities to make photographs. But on the final day of our visit we made a quick loop through portions of the park.

As part of this lightening-speed visit we made among the fastest-on-record visits to Yosemite Valley. Since our main goal was a visit to the high country along Tioga Pass Road, we made a single driving loop through the Valley, likely taking no more than an hour. We paused to photograph in just two locations, including near the base of El Capitan where we photographed the black oak trees with their new spring leaves.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon

Evening Dunes

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Evening Dunes
Soft early-evening light on san dunes as the last sun strike distant desert mountains.

Evening Dunes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft early-evening light on sand dunes as the last sun strikes distant desert mountains.

Photographers (and other creatives) understand that their perspective on their own work will always differ from those of others. It cannot be any other way. Only the photographer — that’s me! — knows the circumstances and experiences of making the image. No one else can ever see the photograph the way I do or know all of the associations it evokes. Perhaps this is a reason that we tell stories about photographs. We hope to fill in some of what the photograph alone cannot tell.

So, some backstory: This was the first time I visited at this semi-remote desert location. I planned to photograph in the evening, camp nearby that night, and photograph again in the morning. My camp was a bit more than a half hour walk from the location, and this was the very last photograph I made that evening. Astute observers (and fellow photographers) may wonder: “Why did you stop when that light was still on the mountains?” Well… I was there to photograph the dunes. It was extremely windy and the low light was becoming more of a problem. The light on the mountains was beautiful, but there wasn’t a photograph there. And I had a long walk back to my camp, alone and across terrain that I had not visited before.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains

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Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains
Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

The light on this morning was interesting, a bit softer than expected due to thin clouds to the east that muted the colors and contrast a bit, plus a bit of the ubiquitous Death Valley haze. I made the photograph back in late January, so it isn’t a big surprise to see a dusting of snow on the higher peaks along the ridge of the Panamint Mountains.

The Panamint Mountains stand along the western side of Death Valley and are a remarkable range in many ways — their scale, the human history they contain, and their relative inaccessibility. While humans have, no doubt, appeared from time to time in this slice of landscape, it is a forbidding place and not one traversed easily. From Valley floor to the highest peaks is over 11,000′ feet, and the terrain between the two is immense and rugged.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California

Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning

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Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning
The dark mass of rugged desert mountains stands beyond badlands lit by morning sun, Death Valley National Park.

Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The dark mass of rugged desert mountains stands beyond badlands lit by morning sun, Death Valley National Park.

Some landscapes speak to me immediately, but others may not resonate at first or even for a long time. I made this photograph in a location in the latter category. While I find the desert endlessly interesting, especially in Death Valley, there are a few places that I just don’t get. In many situations they are, like this specific area, popular places where “everyone goes.” I have no issue with locations achieving iconic status, but sometimes I don’t see what the fuss is about. Recently an offhand remark by a friend got me thinking about this area again. On two recent trips I spent some time there, trying to see it with new eyes. This photograph is one of the products of that effort.

The photograph is also an example of the importance of the nature of the light, particularly in the subtle desert landscape. The contrast between the foreground badlands hills and the distant slopes of an immense desert mountain range does not always (or even usually) look like this. Here a combination of warm, early morning light coming from the side and thin high clouds that muted the light on the mountains greatly increased the contrast between foreground and background.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.