Tag Archives: rock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fractured Granite

November 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A fractured granite cliff in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

I made this photograph on a morning when I was in the eastern Sierra to photograph autumn subject, particularly the annual color change of the aspen trees. Being in a place where I have photographed many times, I quickly dispensed with the familiar (and even iconic) subjects in the area and then, as I like to do, simply wandered slowly with my eyes open, looking for little elements of the larger landscape that caught my eye. Although I have walked past this granite quite a few times, it may be the first time I have photographed it.

Granite (along with, as geologist friends might remind me, rocks informally referred to as granite) is ubiquitous in the Sierra, and is one of the most characteristic features of the Sierra Nevada experience. Not only is there a lot of it, but it has been laid bare by (mostly) glacial action, and it appears in its original locations and in places where the rocks have been moved by water and ice. As a person who has hiked here for decades and who spent a few years as a rock climber, I developed an intimate familiarity with this rock. It can be smooth or rough, uniform in color and texture or interspersed with veins and crystals. It can be freezing cold in winter or benignly warm on a summer day. It may be nearly white, gray, or incorporate a host of color variations. It seems to be solid and unchanging, but there is evidence everywhere that it has been moved and broken and shaped.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Glacial Valley

October 4, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A Mount Shuksan glacier lies in a rocky valley under drifting mists

Recently I shared a photograph of the Wheeler Glacier and Cirque located beneath Wheeler Peak in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. (Yes, I also was unaware that there is a glacier in Nevada…) As I worked on that photograph I had this photograph of a glacier open on my computer. (I don’t know its name — possibly Lower Curtis Glacier?) It struck me just how similar the general features of these widely separated glacier are. Each now consists of an ice field nestled in the bottom of a cirque. Both are surrounded by impressively steep head walls. Both have trees growing very close to the terminus.

I photographed this using a long lens while I was at the Artist Point area at the end of the road to the Mount Baker Ski Area. I had a free day while visiting Seattle, so I did the long up-and-back drive, leaving enough time to photograph in the afternoon. The light may have been less than idea, it being a bit too close to midday, but at times thin clouds muted the sunlight enough to allow light to fill in the shadow details a bit. In addition, some interesting clouds were drifting around the summit of Mt. Shuksan and the occasionally reached further down the peak as in this photograph.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper Forest and a Wash

July 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Juniper trees on red rock soil next to a shallow canyon

My recollection of this afternoon is that we set out down the west side of the park without a particular plan in mind. Eventually we photographed in a deep canyon with tall sandstone walls, but at times we were challenged by trying to find interesting subjects. The light was harsh, but it was also interrupted in awkward ways by clouds — occasionally producing interesting patterns of light and shade, but also sometimes killing the interesting light.

In this area the land slopes down from west to east, following the contours of the underlying strata. For this reason, well before the end of the day the light is already coming across this gently rising terrain at a low angle relative to its incline. Here that light is sweeping across a landscape of red rock, juniper trees, and the beginnings of a small red rock canyon.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper and Striped Sandstone

July 2, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A vertically striped sandstone cliff behind a juniper tree

My recollection is that we had driven into this deep canyon at Capitol Reef late in the day, and that we stopped to photograph as we began to head back out of the canyon not long before sunset. Because of the late hour, although it was still daytime, the light was blocked here by the very tall walls of this narrow canyon.

We stopped here largely because of the remarkable vertical stains on the smooth sandstone walls. In many places this layer of sandstone is almost monolithic, but here the staining produced sharp vertical lines and broke up the otherwise solid features of the rock. Near the base of the cliff a few boulders stood, and on the higher areas right next to the cliff a few trees managed to grow.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: rock

Fractured Granite

Glacial Valley

Juniper Forest and a Wash

Juniper and Striped Sandstone

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.