Tag Archives: ridge

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

Bridalveil Fall and Merced River Canyon, Morning

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Bridalveil Fall and Merced River Canyon, Morning
Bridalveil Fall and Merced River Canyon, Morning

Bridalveil Fall and Merced River Canyon, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Bridalveil Fall and the Merced River canyon in morning backlight – Yosemite Valley, California.

This is the classic view of Bridalveil Fall looking up the canyon of the Merced River as seen from highway 120 just below the longest tunnel on the road descending into the Valley. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven down this road into The Valley, but I seem unable to resist pulling over and at least having a look.

On this early June morning all of the waterfalls were in full flow and the Merced was only 24 hours away from cresting with spring melt-water. The Merced was full from bank to bank, and the sound of falling water was everywhere in the Valley. (Though I only stayed there a few hours before the crowds drove me to visit Tioga Pass instead.) I wasn’t certain quite how to photograph this as the backlit morning haze created a very low contrast effect in the atmosphere even though the areas where the sun hit the water (on the river and at the top of the fall) were very bright. I had a hunch that it might work best in black and white, and after working on it a bit in post that hunch seemed to be correct.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 360mm
ISO 200, f/4.9, 1/320 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, bridalveil, fall, waterfall, merced, river, canyon, cliff, valley, black and white, monochrone, forest, morning, light, back, havze, atmosphere, recession, mist, slope, ridge, shadow, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, california, usa, north america, road, highway, 120, stock

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

Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake

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Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake
Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake

Early Season Ice on Tenaya Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of early season ice on the surface of Tenaya Lake with high granite peaks and domes beyond, Yosemite National Park, California.

A long-lens version of the classic view of Tenaya Lake from Olmsted Point, made on the day that Tioga Pass Road opened for the season and while ice still covered almost all of the surface of the lake. Peaks and domes tower above the lake, including the heights of Mount Conness near the upper left. In a larger version of this photograph, many seasonal waterfalls are visible along the sides of the cliffs and domes.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 210mm
ISO 200, f/5.1, 1/400 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, california, usa, north america, tenaya, lake, dome, conness, peak, ridge, snow, ice, field, forest, granite, cliff, june, olmsted, point, landscape, nature, cloud, sky, black and white, monochrome, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, trans, scenic, travel, stock

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

Tuolumne Meadows – Flooding River and Spring Snow

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Tuolumne Meadows - Flooding River and Spring Snow
Tuolumne Meadows - Flooding River and Spring Snow

Tuolumne Meadows – Flooding River and Spring Snow. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring snow covers Tuolumne Meadows and the Tuolumne River overflows its banks withLembert Dome, Mounts Dana and Gibbs, and Kuna Crest on the skyline.

These were special conditions that I encountered in Tuolumne on the evening of June 5, the day that Tioga Pass opened for the 2010 season. Tuolumne Meadows was still almost completely covered in snow, except that the river was so full with meltwater that large sections of the meadow were flooded, making parts of it look more like a lake than a meadow. The watercourse in the foreground of this photograph will simply be a grass-covered meadow a few weeks from now, and soon after that will be a great place to look for wildflowers – but on this night it was a fast flowing and cold body of water containing floating bits of slushy ice.

The peaks on the horizon are “old friends” to those who frequently visit Tuolumne – from left to right they are Lembert Dome, Mount Dana, Mount Gibbs, and the end of Kuna Crest where it terminates at Mammoth Peak.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 105mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/25 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, tuolumne, meadows, river, snow, pack, overflow, flood, flow, lembert, dome, mount, dana, gibbs, kuna, crest, ridge, peak, forest, sunset, evening, light, reflection, landscape, nature, california, usa, north america, sky, stock

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

Ice and Snow on Tioga Pass and Tioga Lake

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Ice and Snow on Tioga Pass and Tioga Lake
Ice and Snow on Tioga Pass and Tioga Lake

Ice and Snow on Tioga Pass and Tioga Lake. Near Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon shadows fall across the frozen surface of Tioga Lake with Tioga Pass and the snow-covered peaks of Kuna Crest beyond.

On June 5 I made my first “summer season” visit to the Sierra of the year. Usually I mark the start of the post-winter part of the year by heading to Yosemite Valley to experience the waterfalls close up during the peak flow of the meltwater-filled rivers. This year I had time for a one-day trip and I did, indeed, start in the Valley. The waterfalls are close to as big as they get right now, and the Merced River is close to reaching flood stage, with large meadow areas of the Valley already under water. (The latter is actually a normal condition at the peak of the runoff cycle.) However, after shooting in the Valley into mid-morning, I decided to head elsewhere because the crowds were oppressive and because tran-Sierra Tioga Pass Road had opened this very morning.

I’ve been over Tioga Pass Road before on or close to the first day that the route is open, but I haven’t seen conditions like these up there since the mid-1990s. (In 1996, IIRC, the pass didn’t open until July 1 after a very heavy and late winter.) There was still snow almost everywhere along the road. It would be possible to ski or snow-shoe in many areas and, in fact, there were people engaged in just those activities. Melting water was everywhere. In places where I have never seen water before there were roaring creeks, often pouring down next to or even onto the roadway. All lakes and ponds are nearly or completely frozen still. Tuolumne Meadows itself is still completely covered by snow… except where the flooding Tuolumne River has created a giant, fast-moving lake.

I made this photograph at Tioga Lake late in the afternoon after making a traditional visit to the “Who Nellie Deli” in Lee Vining for the ritual fish tacos. Long shadows from nearby peaks and clouds fall across the frozen surface of the lake, the saddle of Tioga Pass is beyond, and in the farthest distance it is still winter on the peaks of Kuna Crest.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 90mm
ISO 200, f/9, 1/1000 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, tioga, lake, pass, mammoth, peak, kuna, crest, ridge, winter, conditions, spring, early, season, june, 2010, snow, ice, frozen, shadow, rock, boulder, reflection, melt, forest, sky, cloud, evening, road, eastern, landscape, winter, nature, stock