Tag Archives: rugged

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Solitary Tree, Morning

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Solitary Tree, Morning
A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

Solitary Tree, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

One of my favorite places to wander on our recent Sierra backcountry visit — with a group of photographer friends back in August — was an area of creeks and boulder-strewn meadows and small trees that led from near our camp toward the alpine country below barren ridges. Once the nearby creek’s flow diminished following some heavy rainfall, I spent a couple of mornings wandering through this terrain and photographing.

I timed my visits so that the sun would rise after I had gotten a little ways into this area, at about the time that the first sun would strike the trees. On this morning I paused in a meadow that was open to the east, and as the first sun arrived it produced lovely backlight on this tree, set against high and rugged country running up toward a much higher ridge.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Forest and Peaks, Morning Light

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Forest and Peaks, Morning Light
Morning light on high peaks and forest trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Forest and Peaks, Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on high peaks and forest trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

My original plan was to post a photograph today from Manhattan — one of my street photography images from a recent visit to New York and surrounding areas. But on a morning when temperatures here are projected to reach 108 degrees (and much higher in other nearby California areas) it seems appropriate to instead share another photograph of a cool mountain scene. Right now I would make some pretty big sacrifices to be back in this place on a day like the one when I made the photograph!

I had left our base camp before sunrise to head up the higher country via an improvised route that crossed a few small streams before following lovely meadows up toward an impressive mountain ridge. (This may look like the crest of the Sierra, but here there are extremely high peaks west of the actual crest.) It was truly a lovely morning. Before long the first sunlight lit the highest peaks, and I stopped to make this photograph as the light arrived on section of forest between the meadows. I continued on up to a small lake in the alpine basin below the peaks.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Forest And Meadow, First Light

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Forest And Meadow, First Light
The first morning light at the boundary between forest and subalpine meadow, eastern Sierra Nevada.

Forest And Meadow, First Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on high peaks and forest trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Today I swing back from the East Coast to the West Coast and my familiar Sierra Nevada. Back in August a group of us spent a week in the Sierra backcountry exploring the area around our base camp and photographing the heck out of the place. In the middle of a very dry year in California, we were surprised by with some rather wet weather — in fact, a bit too wet during the first 24 hours. On the bright side, mountain streams came back to life, and we had days of interesting and picturesque skies rather than the more common string of Sierra blue sky days.

There’s a pattern to the days on these backcountry base camp trips. We’re usually up early, and folks head out individually or in small groups to investigate whatever potential subjects attract their attention. Rather than going to the highest alpine zones on this trip, I often visited a beautiful subalpine basin filled with meadows and small trees. On several mornings I headed up there, crossing small streams and following the meadows up to the alpine zone. I made this photograph right after one of the crossings, as the first direct light fell on the meadow and forest beneath a pair of brooding peaks.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees in Morning Light

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Trees in Morning Light
Trees in monring light, backed by rocky slopes, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Trees in Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Trees in morning light, backed by rocky slopes, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Have I mentioned that I like backlight and that I especially like trees in morning backlight? Well, yes, I think I have. Even more, I like this subject when the background is filled by distant, rocky mountain slopes in shadow. This little group of trees was nestled against a rocky promontory not far from our camp.

After nearly two days of rain, this was the first morning when we had sun. All of us were more than ready for this development, and soon everyone was out and about, enjoying the dry weather and warm light. (We also continued to be impressed by the unusually high creek levels and the nearby lake that was now completely full of sediment washed down from the peaks.)

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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