Tag Archives: rocks

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Rocks and Reflections, Merced River

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Rocks and Reflections, Merced River

Rocks and Reflections, Merced River. Yosemite Valley, California. February 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocks and reflections from sunlit cliffs in the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Callifornia.

This is a major re-working of a photograph I made last winter on a very cold morning in the Valley. I had been photographing nearer to the upper end of the Valley and as the sun rose higher I decided to head down toward Bridalveil fall to shoot in the border between sun and shadow. I was almost to Bridalveil and driving along a shaded section of the road (Southside Drive, which is normally not open to traffic headed this direction) when I saw an area of exposed rocks in a deeply shaded area with the surface of the river illuminated by the brilliant golden reflection from the fully sunlit cliffs above on the north side of the Valley. I found a marginal parking space alongside the road and set up with a long lens and looked for interesting compositions among the rocks.

There is a funny story to add to this. As I was shooting, as often happens when one sets up near a roadway with a "pro-looking" gear (hey, all it really seems to take is a tripod), other visitors began to pull over to see what the photographer was shooting, jumping out of their cars with cameras in hand. This in a very dark section of the canyon. With me using a very long lens. Pointed straight down at some boring rocks in the river. Waiting. For something. Quite a few of them just shook their heads, looked at me like I was nuts, got back in their cars, and drove on. :-)

keywords: California, Landscape, National Park, Place, Season, Travel, Winter, valley, merced, river, reflections, swirls, rocks, boulders, current, california, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, water, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek

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Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek

Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Slender aspen trunks topped with golden autumn leaves near the South Fork of Bishop Creek.

This beautiful grove of slender-trunk aspens with only a few leaves left in their crowns was a lucky find. In the evening I went out looking for groves that were in the shadow of the high peaks of the valley below South Lake. I ended up on a small one-lane gravel road that didn’t seem to be getting too many visitors besides me. I found this grove near the end of this road just before it rejoined the main paved roadway, and just as the fading light provided saturated colors in the trees’ crowns to provide contrast with the paper white color of their trunks. (There is quite a bit of fine detail in this photograph that isn’t visible in the small jpg image posted here.)

keywords: aspen, tree, grove, trunk, white, leaves, yellow, gold, boulders, rocks, branch, bishop, creek, south, fork, south lake, california, usa, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, fall, autumn, color, scenic, travel, stock, nature

Photographs: Central California

Cypress Forest Path

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Cypress Forest Path
Cypress Forest Path. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. August 24, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trail with steps and cypress tree at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

This is the same location in several other photographs I have posted recently, all shot during a late August 2008 visit to this central California coastal park. In this version I have taken the liberty of doing some (to me, at least) significant post-processing of the photograph in order to create a particular type of mood that seems appropriate for this location.

keywords: california, nature, point lobos, summer, monterey, state, reserve, carmel, peninsula, trail, steps, stairs, cypress, tree, forest, path, usa, coast, shore, steps, stairs, plants, flowers, wildflowers, rocks, branch, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs

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Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs
Sunlight illuminates submerged boulders near the cliff face along the High Sierra Trail – Sequioa National Park.

Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight illuminates submerged boulders near the cliff face at a lake on the High Sierra Trail – Sequioa National Park.

I first visited this lake decades ago during a two-week trans-Sierra backpack trip along the High Sierra Trail. I recall arriving and recognizing it from a well-known 1932 Ansel Adams photograph, but I made no serious attempt to photograph it at the time. In the summer of 2008 I retraced the route with a group of friends, and on the third morning I again climbed the spectacular trail toward Kaweah Gap. After crossing a lovely section filled with springs, flowing water, and wildflowers the trail topped a rise and suddenly arrived at this lake. I spent a half hour or more photographing from the shoreline. Finally I finished, packed up my photography gear, and we started up the switchbacks toward the pass.

A moment later as the trail climbed above the lake I glanced back and saw a stunning sight as sun broke through the clouds and intermittently illuminated the submerged talus at the base of the cliffs. Ironically, my first reaction was to think, I just finished shooting, and I’m not going to take this pack off and set up all that gear again!” I almost kept going. Fortunately, I’ve learned my lesson a few times — shoot it now while you have the chance! — so I dropped my pack, set up my tripod and camera, and waited for the right light to appear as broken clouds moved overhead.

Notes:

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.