Tag Archives: rugged

Lower Slopes of Picture Peak, Hungry Packer Lake

Lower Slopes of Picture Peak, Hungry Packer Lake
Lower Slopes of Picture Peak, Hungry Packer Lake

Lower Slopes of Picture Peak, Hungry Packer Lake. John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California. August 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The snow fields, cliffs, and talus fields of Picture Peak tower above the upper end of Hungry Packer Lake, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California.

Hungry Packer Lake is a short walk up the valley from Topsy Turvy Lake, where we camped during our recent visit to upper Sabrina Basin in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Hungry Packer is a classic, high alpine Sierra Lake with glacier polished rocks, meadows, and a some trees at the bench where the outlet stream leaves the lake and rugged rocks and talus slopes around the upper portion of the lake – with the towering mass of Picture Peak overhead. It is “my Sierra” – the sort of place that first comes to mind for me when I think of this mountain range.

We only visited for a short time, as we were on a circuit hike to visit about four of these high lakes, and the light was a bit tough during this midday period. Consequently I decided to go for a tighter shot of the lake surface and the tremendous talus slope, rock faces, and snowfields at the upper end of the lake – all with a plan to render the photo in black and white.


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 and Amazon.

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Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light

Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light

Detail, Base of Tucki Mountain in Morning Light. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail view of a section of the base of Tucki Mountain in early morning light – near Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California.

I had started this early April morning by hiking around to the back side of Mesquite Dunes near Stovepipe Wells before sunrise. After shooting sunrise in and around the dunes I decided to make some photographs of Tucki Mountain, a massive peak that towers above the Dunes and Stovepipe Wells and dominates the view of this part of the Valley. Here the very early sunlight is slanting across the lower slopes of the mountain from the left with the light catching the folded textures of this rugged peak. This photograph is a stitch of three 12MP photographs.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: detail, view, tucky, mountain, base, wash, rugged, valley, ridge, peak, barren, rock, early, morning, light, death valley, national park, stovepipe wells, mesquite dunes, scenic, travel, landscape, california, usa, nature, shadow, texture, fan, geology, stock

Fisherman Above Winter Surf, Big Sur

Fisherman Above Winter Surf, Big Sur
Fisherman Above Winter Surf, Big Sur. Big Sur Coastline, California. February 9, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a solitary fisherman perched on a rocky outcropping above the raging surf of Big Sur on a wnter morning. This is a vertical format composition variation on a scene I have previously posted in landscape format.

keywords: solitary, fisherman, above,winter, surf, big sur, california, usa, ocean, coast, rugged, wild, waves, rocks, outcropping, pacific, ocean, coastline, highway, one, fog, mist, raging, sea stacks, seascape, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, person, man, nature, outdoor, sports, view

Fishing Above Winter Surf, Big Sur

Fishing Above Winter Surf, Big SurFishing Above Winter Surf, Big Sur. Big Sur Coastline, California. February 9, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved. (Visit the site and click the image to see a larger version.)

Two fisherman fish from a rock outcropping above giant winter surf and shallow fog thrown up by the waves near Rocky Creek Bridge along the Big Sur coastline. A more distant perspective on a scene I uploaded earlier in a series of monochrome photographs.

keywords: big, sur, two, fishermen, fishing, angling, surf, waves, spray, mist, fog, fingers, waves, winter, coast, coastline, shorelline, seascape, sea, ocean, landscape, human, people, scenic, outdoors, wild, rugged, pacific, california, usa, highway, one, monterey, panorama, stock