Tag Archives: ridge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

First Light, North Peak

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First Light, North Peak
“First Light, North Peak” — First morning light of the summit of North Peak on the Sierra Crest, feflected in a subalpine pond.

By now the story of this pack trip is perhaps becoming familiar… but there are still more photos! I went on a mid-July backpacking trip into the Eastern Sierra with a group of longtime backcountry friends… plus a few new friends. We camped at a lake near this spot for a couple of nights before moving on. The photograph includes a peak that was visible from my campsite, and the camera position is perhaps a one minute walk away.

Many years ago I would not have taken a trip like this one. Back then I wanted to cover the miles! But this time we only hiked two (!) miles the first day, and we stayed at our first camping location for two nights. These days, when wilderness photography is usually the main goal of these trips, being in one place for several mornings and evenings gives me time to thoroughly explore the photographic opportunities.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Albania, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Travel

Albanian Alps

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Albanian Alps
“Albanian Alps” — Rugged peaks of the Albanian Alps, seen from the Valbone River Valley.

As a serious fan of California’s Sierra Nevada, for many years I regarded that spectacular range as more or less the only one worth visiting. And I visited (and still visit) it a lot! My first concrete hint that maybe, just maybe, there were other mountains in the world worth visiting came during a long bicycle trip through Alaska in 1999, where we spent days in sight of huge, ice covered mountains. After a very brief visit to this mountains in Albania, I’m adding them to my list of worthy summits.

We were in Albania for literally only hours. We were staying in Kosovo near Decan, south of Peja, with relatives of a member of our extended European family. He chose to take on on a long drive to the mountains, and I did not even realize we were going into Albania until we arrived at a border station! We ascended the beautiful Valbone River Valley, finally arriving at a resort located at the base of these spectacular mountains.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Pond and Peaks, Evening

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Pond and Peaks, Evening
“Pond and Peaks, Evening” — Eveing light on a subalpine pond beneath Sierra Nevada crest peaks.

This seems like a classic Sierra Nevada backcountry scene — a lovely subalpine lake (or in this case pond), soft and warm evening light, a bit of meadow, a forest, boulders, and the highest peaks looming beyond, still holding a bit of snow from the past winter. There is hardly anything finer than to find a comfortable rock, lean back, and simply watch such a scene as day transitions to night.

Truth be told, while I do certainly get to experience these scenes — as I did on this late-July backpack trip earlier this summer — I almost never sit back and just watch at this time of day. While I deeply appreciate all of the sensations evoked by a scene like this one, something familiar to me from decades in these mountains, the camera calls… and you are far more likely to find me out exploring with my camera than sitting back against that comfortable rock!

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tioga Crest, Evening

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Tioga Crest, Evening
“Tioga Crest, Evening” — Tioga Crest in sunset light, reflected in a small pond.

This ridge lies a bit east of the actual Sierra Nevada Crest, just outside of Yosemite National Park’s eastern boundary. The peaks along the park boundary are magnificent examples of the rugged, rocky landscape that characterizes the highest parts of the range. But the ridge in this photograph is different. Despite being over 11,000′ high, on its western side it looks like… a really big hill, with little of the rocky, rugged alpine quality that we expect from these high mountains.

After my early backcountry dinner (as usual, eaten from the bag into which I had poured the cup of boiling water), I headed out for my evening photography. As the last sunlight left the lake where we camped I looked to distant high points where that warm light still shone. Here I lined up the peak with its reflection in a small pond only steps from my campsite.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.