Tag Archives: rugged

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm

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Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm
A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

My favorite time of year in the Sierra Nevada high country is right now — roughly between mid-September and mid-October or a bit later. I love the place all year, wonderful stuff happens during this season. The overbearing crowds of summer are mostly gone — and I can just show up and get a campsite! The sun is often still warm, but its intensity has diminished. The light trends toward warm and soft and golden. Fall colors arrive and, of course, we sense winter out there on the seasonal horizon. These last easy, warm days seem even more precious as they come to an end yet again.

On the other hand, this transitional period brings surprises including cold, rain, graupel, hail, wind, snow… all of which I experienced on a few recent late-September days. I made this photograph from my camp at 9000’+ of elevation just outside Yosemite’s eastern border. Shortly after I set up my tent the sky darkened and soon rain, hail, and graupel arrived. The trees on this rocky prominence we in the last bit of soft light before the storm arrived and I took cover.

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: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Travel

Mosque, Valbone River Valley, Albania

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Mosque, Valbone River Valley, Albania
A mosque in sunlight under cloudy skies in the Valbone River Valley, Albania.

Mosque, Valbone River Valley, Albania. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A mosque in sunlight under cloudy skies in the Valbone River Valley, Albania.

We stayed in Kosovo (with the family of a member of our “European family”) for a few days this summer during our extended travels in Southern Europe. After visiting the more typical destinations for American tourists, this was more of a cultural “stretch” for us, and a very rewarding one it was. There is much to say about the experience that I will share elsewhere at some point, but on this day we went into the nearby mountains of Albania, driving to a point where the road ended along the Valbone River — a spectacular area that easily rivals my Sierra Nevada landscapes.

Along the way to this destination I saw this rural mosque sitting in this beautiful valley as we passed by, and I made a mental note to try to stop and photograph it on the way back down later in the afternoon. I managed to persuade the rest of our party to stop and give me some time to explore and photograph here, and I was not disappointed.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Valley to Mountains

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Valley to Mountains
An expansive view of rugged Death Valley National Park desert mountain landscape.

Valley to Mountains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An expansive view of rugged Death Valley National Park desert mountain landscape.

I don’t think most people think of Death Valley as a “mountain park” along the lines of Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and similar places. Most of the popular routes and sights are in valleys, including the great one that gives the park its name. But there are mountains, spectacular and very tall mountains, and it is possible to venture into them. This view comes from a place high in the Panamint Range, to the west of the main valley, topped by 11,000+’ Telescope Peak.

I made the photograph close to sunset, when long shadows began to highlight the textures of the terrain. This high perspective reveals features that are difficult to fully appreciate close-up. For example, it is very hard to get a sense of that remarkable terrain formed by flowing water at the bottom of the frame. Desert mountains rise behind, and beyond them is the Amargosa Valley and even more distant mountains.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Ranges

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Desert Ranges
A view from the Panamint Mountains across Death Valley toward mountains near Las Vegas.

Desert Ranges. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A view from the Panamint Mountains across Death Valley toward mountains near Las Vegas.

This is another in the “very long views” series. Like another recent photograph, it also comes from the crest of the Panamint Mountains, though this time looking generally east. As such, the view extends across Death Valley (over 6000 feet below), then over the Black Mountains, the Amargosa Range, and across the Amargosa Valley to a snow-capped ridge close to Las Vegas, Nevada. (in the full size version of this photograph remarkable details become visible — a parking lot near Artist Palette, utility poles along the road out of Death Valley.)

There is a bit of a story about the lighting in this scene. It is essentially front-lit, with the light coming from behind my camera position and shining directly on the subject. Typically, this would be about the worst kind of lighting for a landscape subject, especially when haze is present, since it produces almost no shadows and very little visibility of details. But here something compensates, namely the shadows of broken clouds which introduce some shadows into the scene and help us sense its depth.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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