Tag Archives: reflection

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Northern California

Mountains, Lake, Peninsula

November 24, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A peninsula at San Luis Reservoir, with distant hills and autumn clouds

I often pass this location on my way to and from other places — the Sierra, Southern California, the deserts, the Southwest, bird photography locations — but I almost never stop, despite the fact that this can be a place of huge spaces and beautiful light and atmosphere. The reasons for passing it by are perhaps many: I’ve been by it many times over a period of many decades, it isn’t easy to find a place to pull over and stop, it is a manmade reservoir, and I’m usually more focused on getting to or coming back from one of those other places.

Recently I made my first trip of the season out to the migratory bird areas of the Central Valley where I like to do a lot of photography in the late-fall through winter months. This visit was perhaps a bit early for real bird photography, but it gave me a chance to get back to that area that I enjoy so much… and it was a foggy day! (The fog and hazy atmosphere of the Central Valley are major attractions for me.) The bird photography out there was merely OK on this visit and, as planned, I only stayed there for the morning before returning home. As I climbed past the huge earthen dam of this reservoir I was struck by the hazy sunlight on brown hills and the brilliantly bright clouds to the south across the expanse of the water. At first I kept going, but I soon came to my senses, found a place to turn around, and headed back to an overlook where I made a few photographs of this landscape.

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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Canyon Reflections

November 10, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Reflective mud and shallow water in a Utah clot canyon — “Canyon Reflections” — Reflections of canyon and sky in the muddy bed of a canyon stream

I was tempted to title this “More Mud.” But I didn’t, even though canyon mud is a very interesting subject throughout this area of the Southwest. I had been in one south Utah location for a few days and it was time to travel to different area to meet up with a friend. Rather than taking the paved routes I decided to follow about 50 miles of gravel back roads — the mileage was shorter but the time was longer. Better yet, this route took me past several interesting sites that I wanted to explore a bit.

One of these is a little canyon that I first visited a few years ago with friends. In fact, this spot was my very first time in one of these deep and narrow canyons. I recall that the entire experience was foreign to me on that first visit — from walking up the middle of a shallow running stream, to shooting in midday for the best reflected light, and the new and unusual (to me) sights and sounds of this part of Utah. So I figured that it might be fun to make a brief stop on this drive and wander back up the canyon for an hour or two. The canyon has many attractions, but one is that its regularly running steam keeps the canyon floor mud damp and reflective. Another is that high red rock walls reflect lovely bright colors down onto the water and the mud. After hitting my turnaround point, as I retraced my steps back down the canyon I paid special attention to the textures and reflections in the mud, and I was excited to find this spot that combined the red sand, the deep blue reflection of sky, the reddish reflection of canyon walls, and the warm light reflected down into 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.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Morning, Subalpine Lake

October 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A granite peninsula holding small trees extends into the waters of a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

I made this photograph on our first real photography day of our early September backcountry photography trip in Yosemite National Park. There is a sort of life-cycle to any trip and especially for longer trips like this one. The entire first day of the “expedition” was spent loading vehicles, driving across California, and getting settled into first night accommodations in the eastern Sierra. The second day was a travel day — first a drive up to our trailhead, getting our gear to the packers who would take the majority of it in to our destination, leaving vehicles and starting the long hike, arrival and camp setup, and dinner… and the day was gone. So this third day of the trip was the first for serious photography.

The first day in a location where you will spend substantial time photographing is an interesting one, and the first morning is a very special time. After two days of transit, this is when photography begins. We arose before dawn, loaded up packs of camera gear, and headed down to the lake, each following his or her own path. It is a time of renewal and recognition — of the features and sensory elements of being in the Sierra high country and of focusing your “seeing” intensely. I began by first making an obligatory warm-up shot or two and then working my way around the west side of the lake, looking back across it toward the early morning sun as it eventually rose high enough to backlight trees and rocks. When I look at this photograph, the point of view and the elements in the frame remind me again of those first day sensations as we began our relationship with this lake and its surrounding terrain, a location we would photograph for the better part of a week.

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

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

East Carson River, Autumn

October 23, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall colors along the canyon of the East Carson River, California

Aspens are most certainly not the only sources of autumn color in the Sierra Nevada. There are many bush-like plants that can be quite colorful, such as the willows that may line high elevation creeks, and in the lower places along rivers cottonwood trees produce beautiful color just a bit later than the aspens.

This photograph was made along a section of the East Carson River not far from the tiny town of Markleeville in Alpine County, one of the least populated areas in the state. In this general area there is a transition from the higher country around the Sierra crest toward the high desert east of the range where rivers like this one end up. As I drove up the highway alongside the East Carson it was still early morning and shadows filled the bottom of the river canyon, where colors came from brush, cottonwoods, reflected blue sky and warmer colors reflected from higher canyon walls.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: reflection

Mountains, Lake, Peninsula

Canyon Reflections

Morning, Subalpine Lake

East Carson River, Autumn

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.