Tag Archives: ridge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range

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Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range
Spring wildflowers in bloom at the base of the Temblor Range

Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers in bloom at the base of the Temblor Range.

Let’s start with the “Temblor Range.” (First a confession: I’ve always thought that the word referring to earthquakes should be “tremblor,” not temblor. Don’t judge me!) The area of the Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of those locations where the monumental nature of the San Andreas earthquake fault, arguably the most consequential bit of geology in the state, lies out in the open where it is easy to see. The Temblor Range runs from northwest to southeast along the edge of the plain, and its base marks the precise location of the fault. Visitors can easily observe some very powerful evidence of fault movement where creeks have been offset to the north over many thousands of years. From what I read, the geological record shows a leap of over 20 feet in the 1800s and a prior movement of well over 40 feet!

Earthquake faults aside, during the spring this can be the site of truly stupendous wildflower displays. The area is normally very dry and very hot. Most summer or early fall visitors would be struck by how empty and arid the place looks — little vegetation, most of it appearing to be dead, evaporated lake beds, and lots of dust. But when the winter rains are exceptional – as there were during the middle and latter parts of this season — there can be an explosion of wildflowers. This year’s display is quite impressive, though it may not quite equal the “super bloom” of a couple of years ago. The wildflowers were my main reason for going this time, so I headed over towards this likely spot late in the day. Clouds blocked the light an hour or so before sunset, but I thought there might be a bit of light at the last minute when the sun dropped below the cloud’s lower edge before setting. It turned out that this happened… and I had all of about two minutes of soft, warm-colored light.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trail of Boulders

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Trail of Boulders
“Trail of Boulders” — Afternoon autumn light on a trail crossing a Sierra Nevada meadow.

This became a familiar bit of terrain during our weeklong (plus a bit) photography visit to an Eastern Sierra backcountry area last September. Our routine is to establish a base camp, photograph in the immediate vicinity, and then start working outward to photograph areas a bit further away. The area through which this trail passed became a favorite, and we walked this route many times.

There is a lot to observe in this scene. Perhaps one of the first obvious features is the trail of boulders crossing the meadow. Sierra Nevada backcountry travels might be struck by something about this — most meadow trails are either deep ruts, dug out by many hikers and animals, or they have been moved out of the meadows and onto tougher terrain. The extensive use of boulders here is unusual. (I wonder if it a good thing for avoiding the scarring of the typical deeply grooved trail, or if it might have been better to re-route.) Note the open quality of the forested terrain here — it is typical of the high country not far below the tree line. The trail is heading off towards higher country and, in fact, the trail runs out only yards beyond this point. Above that is a headwall and huge talus slopes which can be climbed, but only by those willing to travel cross-country. Finally, the peaks that lie dead ahead are on the Sierra Nevada crest itself.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake

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Morning Light, Meadow and Lake
First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

This photograph includes many of the major visual themes from a weeklong photographic visit to this part of the Sierra Nevada backcountry: The green meadow with its small trees, the still lake, low hills between the lake and the deep valley beyond, and across that valley many high, alpine peaks.

Although it is not the highest peak in this view — not by far — the bulky peak in the center of the frame dominated the view from this spot and many other nearby areas. (It also appears in a previous photograph I posted from near this location.) This morning began with partly cloudy skies, and as the sunlight began to penetrate the overcast it sent a beam of warm light across the face of the peak.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Light, Reflection

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Sierra Light, Reflection
First light on a backcountry Sierra Nevada lake and ridge

Sierra Light, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light on a backcountry Sierra Nevada lake and ridge

This is an older photograph that I recently came across as I went back through old image files. (I do this from time to time, and I invariably find something that I missed the first time around. ) We were on a pack trip out of the Mammoth Lakes area and on the trail for perhaps five days, moving among a series of lakes that all were under the watchful eye of the peaks in the photograph.

I was up early and perhaps a bit disappointed in the perfectly blue sky. However, as the first dawn light struck the peaks, it produced a perfect reflection in the surface of the lake, broken only by the pair of boulders, placed here in the composition to break up the mirror-image symmetry. While clouds in the sky might have been interesting, the smooth blue gradients reflected in the water make the peaks seem to float.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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