Tag Archives: red

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

First Light, Mount Gibbs

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First Light, Mount Gibbs

First Light, Mount Gibbs. Yosemite National Park, California. July 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light shines across the face of Mt. Gibbs above Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California.

This photograph was made in the early morning alongside Tioga Meadow, the large meadow just below Tioga Pass inside the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park, as the first sun crept over the Sierra crest and began to hit the upper slopes of Mt. Gibbs. This is one of my favorite locations along Tioga Pass Road, probably because it is the highest area right at the pass but also because of the extensive rolling meadows containing the skeletons of trees knocked down by avalanches and because of the proximity to much higher peaks, such as Mt. Dana.

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

keywords: mount, gibbs, morning, dawn, sun, light, mountain, snow, field, red, brown, clouds, sky, blue, forest, trees, meadow, rock, tioga, pass, road, tuolumne, meadows, yosemite, national park, california, usa, ridge, mountains, landscape, sierra nevada, range, scenic, travel, stock

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

Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows

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Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows

Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fiery sunset colors illuminate lenticular clouds above the Tuolumne River, Tuolumne Meadows, Lembert Dome, and Mounts Dana and Gibbs on the Sierra crest, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is the sky I wrote about in the text accompanying the previous two photographs made on this July evening in Tuolumne Meadows. I’ll just have to include the quote from Ansel Adams one more time for anyone who didn’t see it in the first post:

“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” – Ansel Adams

I don’t think it is quite that simple – to put it another way, We’re all very fortunate that it was Ansel who happened to be in those places doing the shutter clicking on those occasions! But you do indeed have to be there, and you do need to be ready to take advantage of the scene that presents itself to you. Unlike painters, we cannot just conjure up scenes like this.

I count myself as extremely lucky in that I get to spend a lot of time in the Sierra and have for many years. (I’m also very lucky to be married to an artist who understands how important it is to me to traipse off to the Sierra to make photographs – Thanks, Patty!) I’ve seen a lot of Sierra sunsets and photographed (or tried to photograph!) a good number of them. FWIW, while the good fortune of being there at the right time plays a huge part in getting any photograph, it is rarely enough.

As I wrote in yesterday’s post, I’ve learned to recognize a certain set of Sierra Nevada conditions that can (but are not guaranteed to) create a brief moment of utterly astonishing color just as the sun slips below the horizon. Once you have seen this happen and recognize the pattern, if you are like me you will drop everything to be there. Nine times out of ten the potential will be unrealized and you’ll just have “another stunning Sierra sunset” – or perhaps just a gray cloudy sunset. But on that tenth time!

So, yes, I dropped everything to be in Tuolumne Meadows two hours before sunset, and I was in position with a composition scoped out and everything set up a full hour beforehand. I was more that willing to put up with the swarms of mosquitos – and when this light show started I didn’t even notice them.

What has happened here is that the mass of stacked lenticular clouds above Mounts Dana and Gibbs on the Sierra crest and to the east are being illuminated by the very last light reflected off of high clouds to the west just as the sun drops below the horizon. Silently, and almost before you realize what is happening, the color of the landscape is completely transformed for what could be no longer than a few short minutes.

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

keywords: fiery, color, sunset, twilight, evening, sky, flame, red, orange, purple, pink, blue, clouds, lenticular, atmosphere, tuolumne, meadows, river, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, peak, ridge, lembert, dome, mount, dana, gibbs, kune, crest, mammoth, peak, forest, tree, reflection, ripple, gravel, bar, grass, forest, tree, landscape, scenic, travel, meteorology, conditions, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

This Place Called Poetry

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This Place Called Poetry

This Place Called Poetry. San Francisco, California. July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An odd juxtapostion of signs on a street kiosk in San Francisco, California.

Sometimes, if you walk around with your eyes open, you see juxtapositions that almost defy description – so I won’t describe; I’ll just post.

These are images from a sidewalk kiosk on a street in downtown San Francisco.

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

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, summer, city, urban, travel, street, sign, kiosk, advertising, billboard, red, shirt, white, shorts, big, fat, belly, hand, poetry, this place, called, antonio caceres, poem, writerscorps, apprentice, program, odd, jarring, juxtaposition, reflection, people, car, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Java Hut Employee

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Java Hut Employee

Java Hut Employee. San Francisco, California. July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Man standing in the doorway of the Java Hut, San Francisco, California.

As I was walking along the San Francisco waterfront very early in the morning on July 1, I was shooting the South Beach Harbor when I noticed this fellow standing in the doorway of the Java Hut and motioning to me to take his photograph – I couldn’t refuse. I managed to get two photographs of him in his red apron against the red and white exterior of the coffee shop. (I only realized today that this should have been my July 4 photo!) I didn’t get his name, but I know this place well so I’ll try to take him a print the next time I get up there.

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

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, summer, city, urban, travel, man, person, street, urban, worker, employee, waiter, java hut, restaurant, coffee, shop, stand, door, window, blue, red, apron, moustache, plaid, embarcadero, portrait, south beach, harbor, shoreline, stock, travel, character