Tag Archives: ridge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds

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Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds
Small trees and wildflowers spread across a large subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow

Tree-Filled Meadow, Morning Clouds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small trees and wildflowers spread across a large subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow.

We spent a week camped next to this lovely subalpine meadow, with its small lake, forest of small trees, and surrounding alpine peaks. For those whose backpacking mostly consists of daily walking from camp to camp (as it did for me for many years) the idea of staying in one place for a week can seem boring or even upsetting. But I’ve learned that over time such places reveal plenty of interesting stuff — and I’ve never reached the end of a week in one of them feeling that I’ve exhausted its potential.

Our camp was hidden in trees on top of a rocky moraine, mostly invisible to passers-by. But a short walk down the side of the moraine quickly brought us to the edge of this meadow. The centerpiece of the meadow was a quiet lake, surrounded by grass and wildflowers and covered in places with wildflowers. This was one of those rare and special years when prodigious and late snowfall keeps the meadows green all the way into September, and late season wildflowers were everywhere.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light

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Lake And Mountains, Morning Light
High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake.

Our group spent a week base-camped in this location a few years ago, getting to know the area intimately and photographing it and its surroundings extensively. The spot is quite beautiful, but many of its beauties don’t reveal themselves immediately. In fact, when I passed by here some years earlier I don’t recall even stopping! My only memory is of walking past a campsite and continuing toward my more distant goal. But a week spent in such a place — or almost any similar place — inevitably turns up treasures that are overlooked when passing through.

It turned out that a short walk in any of several directions took us to all sorts of photographic subjects: wildflower-filled meadows, granite slab country, streams meandering through timberline meadows, expansive views. In most cases “short walk” meant something between ten minutes and perhaps an hour. In the case of this photograph it meant “5 minute amble before breakfast!”

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Peak and Lake, Afternoon

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Peak and Lake, Afternoon
A Sierra Crest peak stands against the sky above a rocky basin and small lake

Peak and Lake, Afternoon. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Sierra Crest peak stands against the sky above a rocky basin and small lake.

This photograph comes from almost a decade ago, when a group of friends ascended into this alpine region just east of the Sierra Nevada crest in the John Muir Wilderness, and area of rocky slabs, talus fields, lakes, and high peaks. We spent several days camped here, exploring nearby terrain. I hope to return again before long, which is perhaps why I resurrected this older photograph.

These areas just below and east of the peaks of the crest present steep and rugged country, with the highest peaks sometimes rising quickly to 7000 feet or more above the valley to the east of the range. This is an area of morning light, as the peaks and high valley generally face toward the rising sun. Late in the day, on the other hand, the sun generally drops behind the peaks well before sunset, leaving soft and shadowed light behind.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Clouds Above The Pacific

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Clouds Over The Pacific
Clouds cast shadows on the Pacific Ocean, as seen from the mountains of Redwood National Park

Clouds Above The Pacific. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds cast shadows on the Pacific Ocean, as seen from the mountains of Redwood National Park.

While this obviously doesn’t look like the typical Redwood National and State Parks photograph… that is, indeed, where it comes from. We spent a week in the coastal areas of Northern California in early June, mostly in and around these parks and mostly looking for photographs of the redwood forests and the rhododendron bloom. We had headed up one road to a popular grove where we thought we might fine the flowers in bloom among the trees, but this road also leads to other interesting places, including some open, ridge top “prairie” lands and other locations providing distant views that are quite different from what you find inside the forest.

This photograph is an illustration of something that often surprises folks when they consider landscape, namely that a lot of it does not come from careful planning and slow, methodical work, but rather by being in the right place at the right moment and being ready to respond quickly to rapidly changing conditions. When we went up this road and even when we pulled over at this spot, I would be lying if I claimed that I pre-visualized this subject or this scene. But once I saw it — big, back-lit clouds floating past and casting shadows on the reflective surface of the sea beyond the undulating, tree-covered foreground ridge — I worked quickly to make a few photographs as the scene evolved. And did it evolved quickly! Only moments later these clouds had almost entirely dissipated.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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