Tag Archives: reflection

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Entering the Narrows

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Entering the Narrows
The path up a desert canyon enters shaded narrows, Death Valley National Park.

Entering the Narrows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The path through a desert canyon enters shaded narrows, Death Valley National Park.

Most of the time I approach places like this by passing across some sort of alluvial fan, then following a wash that narrows as its walls rise. When I think of these approaches, heat, direct and intense sunlight, dryness, and the sound of boots crunching on rocks come to mind, along with a sense of exposure to these elements. The terrain feels like it is mostly about loose materials — compacted soil, conglomerates, cracked faces, and the water-transported rocks all around.

That all changes when entering narrows like these. The open sky may constrict to a narrow channel far above or it may disappear entirely. The walls, having been scrubbed by moving water and gravel, are smooth and curved. The light becomes soft and often quite blue, coming entirely from the blue sky itself, reflected among the faces as it descends into the canyon. It becomes quiet and my own crunching footsteps are likely the only sound. The expansive world of light and sky on the alluvial fans and washes contracts, contained between the close walls and the next bend in the canyon.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Alpine Lake Reflections

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Alpine Lake Reflections
Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

Alpine Lake Reflections. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

This photograph takes us back to the northern reaches of the Yosemite backcountry, off of a trail that ultimately heads further north and out of the park. We left the main trail in this area and wandered up into a valley with a series of beautiful subalpine and alpine lakes below high ridges and peaks near the Sierra crests. The group set up camp here and photographed for days.

This lovely lake with its far talus-slope shoreline was moments from our campsite; we photographed it often and passed it every time we went off to more distant locations. Perhaps because it was so convenient, but also because it was so beautiful, we often ended up photographing along its shoreline in the morning. I made this photograph shortly after the sun had cleared the ridge on the far side of the lake, sending beautiful backlight down onto the trees on the peninsula.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest Reflection, Morning

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Forest Reflection, Morning
Morning light on forest trees, reflected on the surface of a backcountry lake.

Forest Reflection, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on forest trees, reflected on the surface of a backcountry lake.

Photographing the special and transitory light at the start and end of the day reminds me of the experience of spring skiing. It can be great, but you’ve got to be there at the right moment, and it doesn’t last long. Early on a spring skiing morning the slopes (be they groomed or natural) are often badly frozen in the early morning. I’ve done a lot of cross-country skiing and a bit of telemark skiing, and I have to say that that refrozen slush can be really nasty stuff. But as the morning warms there is a point where the surface softens just enough and what was nearly impossible become quite wonderful… for a very short time, as the snow soon turns to slush.

Early morning (and evening) light seems a lot like this. In the same way that you need to already be on the slopes while they are icy to catch that bit of wonderful spring snow, you need to be up and about and finding your photographic subjects before the light is ideal — and while the cold and lack of coffee aren’t making things any easier. But if you are out there and you know where to look, at some point the light “happens,” continuously changing as the rising sun works its way across the landscape, illuminating a bit of meadow, a tree, the rim of a peak… and then it becomes too harsh and flat and is gone.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset

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Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset
The last light of the day touches the top of Sheep Peak in the McCabe Lakes Basin, Yosemite National Park.

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day touches the top of a peak in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park.

This is not a new photograph — rather, it is a reconsideration of one that I made almost a decade ago and recently looked it with new eyes. The location is in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park, in a somewhat remote area characterized by high ridges, rocky terrains, and some lovely lakes. I was there with a group of friends and photographers for a few glorious days during which we took our time and explored the surrounding terrain.

We were camped at a lower lake among forest trees, in a location that gave us shelter but also access to tons of higher, more alpine terrain. Often we headed off individually to photograph, but on this late afternoon we all headed to the same place, ascending a slope at the upper end of “our” lake to arrive at the next lake up the valley. Sequences of lakes like this are common in many backcountry areas, and I enjoy the individual personalities of the lakes as they are affected by terrain and elevation. This lake was surrounded by alpine meadows, very small and sparse trees, lots of talus, and towering peaks.

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.