Tag Archives: rock

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tall Black Oaks, Autumn

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Tall Black Oaks, Autumn
“Tall Black Oaks, Autumn” — Tall black oak trees in autumn colors in Yosemite Valley.

I think I photographed these oak trees at just about the peak of their fall color, and I also managed to show up when the light was just right. Autumn oak leaves tend more toward brown than golden, but in the right kind of backlight they can glow and even produce a rich golden color. The light here was quite soft, which is also beneficial, but with cloud-softened light on the trees in the middle of the frame.

The meadows of Yosemite Valley are marvelous places, even if these days our access to them is more restricted than it once was. In winter they are quiet and often filled with morning ground fog. In the spring new growth bursts forth and they are very green places. In summer the grasses turn that “California gold” color as everything dries out. And for a short time in autumn the golden colors extend up into the tree tops.

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.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin Sentinels

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Mono Basin Sentinels
“Mono Basin Sentinels” — Rock towers in morning light on high desert hills above Mono Basin.

Mono Lake is immense, but it is dwarfed by the full extent of Mono Basin, the large valley it occupies. Prehistoric Mono Lake was much larger and deep enough to leave water marks along the base of mountains that are today quite dry. To get an idea of the full extent of the basin you must either travel around it (and learn how long it can take) or find a high place from which the whole thing is visible.

On this morning I was up in mountains south of the lake and the basin, mountains that form part of its border. I was there for some other photographic targets, including long views of the east side of the Sierra Nevada and some aspen groves. But as I worked I noticed these rock “sentinels” standing guard on a nearby ridge in morning light, and the view of the vast basin in the distance.

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.

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

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Gully, Morning Light

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Gully, Morning Light
“Gully, Morning Light” — A gully with a dusting of autumn snow is reddish in early morning light, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

While camped in the Sierra near the eastern border of Yosemite National Park during the early fall season, I decided to head down to Lee Vining and then turn south. My plan was to do some early morning photography along the base of the Sierra where the mountains begin to rise toward the crest and the boundary of the park. I made this photograph shortly after sunrise as the morning light worked its way down the escarpment.

The intense coloration of the rocky face is from a combination of warm colored rocks and very warm colored morning light. With the exception of a permanent snow field near the top edge, the rest of the white stuff in the photograph came from an early storm that had passed through the area the day before, leaving the sort of dusting that reminds us that winter is coming.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Blue Stone Vortex

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Blue Stone Vortex
“Blue Stone Vortex” — Curving and intersecting fractures in Sierra Nevada rock under stormy skies.

While I’m often drawn to the large scale landscapes, intimate landscapes appeal to me, too. The big photos do give the grand perspective of the landscape, but I think that images of smaller elements and components of the larger scene can tell us just as much about a place. And their sometimes-abstract nature lets us see the landscape in new ways that we perhaps had not thought of.

The grand landscape was not cooperating when I I photographed these rocks. It had been raining and it was still very cloudy. Are the rocks really this color? That’s a good question! The landscape looks different under various sorts of light, and often our vision system “corrects” for this and we do not notice it. I knew that the overcast was having an effect, but until I opened this photograph (and others made at the same time) in post, I had not realized just how blue the light was. Sometimes I “correct” these strong colors, but this time I decided to go with it.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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