Tag Archives: scenic

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Forest

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Morning Forest
Morning Forest

Morning Forest. Lake Tahoe, California. June 21, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light filters through forest trees near the shore of Lake Tahoe

Although we were not at Lake Tahoe primarily for photography, and although the previous day had been a busy one — a long drive and a wedding! — I got up before dawn and headed out to see what the morning light might bring. Shortly after 5:00 AM I was out and driving south along the west shore of Lake Tahoe. (Note to others visiting the lake: Get up early! It is beautify and almost no one else is out yet, turning this usually crowded place into one of near solitude.)

The light was tricky. High clouds were in the sky above the mountains along the far, eastern side of the lake, and the early sun was mostly blocked by them. But the clouds were not solid, and as I headed south I started to see sun breaks, and pools of light traveled across the landscape of the west side of the lake, separated by bands of shadow. As I passed this otherwise nondescript spot, a bit of beautiful backlight shone through the trees, so I quickly pulled over… and the light immediately went dark! But soon it returned, and I had found composition that included these sparse trees set in a small valley below me, and I was ready to make this photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist 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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Rocky Shoreline, Pacific Ocean

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Rocky Shoreline, Pacific Ocean
Rocky Shoreline, Pacific Ocean

Rocky Shoreline, Pacific Ocean. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 27, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandstone shoreline rocks along the Pacific Ocean coast at Point Lobos State Reserve

I’ve been sitting on this photograph for some time, perhaps because it isn’t exactly a spectacular scene but more of a familiar and subtle one with personal connections. During a busy period earlier this spring I had not been able to find time to photograph my favorite subjects for a few weeks and I was itching to get out… so I simply headed out one morning to this familiar location.

I’ve been going to Point Lobos for decades, since I was a very young child and my family would make day trips down there. In those days we would explore rocks just like these —in fact, they may have been these very rocks — and investigate nearby tide pools. On this spring morning there were few other visitors, perhaps because of the high cloudiness that was making the day almost a bit gray and softening in the light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Ridgeline, Trees, Winter Fog

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Ridgeline, Trees, Winter Fog
Ridgeline, Trees, Winter Fog

Ridgeline, Trees, Winter Fog. Yosemite National Park, California. March 1, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A winter fog obscures trees along a ridgeline high above Yosemite Valley

It may be surprising to hear that this is a color photograph. Well, the camera thought so, but you cannot easily tell by looking at the image. I was shooting another nearby subject, or perhaps waiting for that subject to some light that would make it more “photographable,” when I looked up to see this fog enveloping the high tree-covered ridges above this part of Yosemite Valley, with the atmosphere gently glowing in the backlight.

The photograph is a reminder for me that it is often better to see what you can make of the conditions you find than to lament that the conditions are not what you hoped for. (OK, you can go ahead a lament a little bit—i think that is normal!) While I often go to a place perhaps expecting or hoping for particular conditions, I’ve learned that quite often the most interesting opportunities are not those that we can predict but those that surprise us or those that we find. If the atmosphere of the place, apart from your initial notions of how it might be photographed, is something that attracts you, then it must be possible to make some kind of effective photograph of that thing that you like. You might be hoping for colorful sunset light, but you know—or at least I hope you do!—that a foggy evening, or a rainy evening, or even a hazy evening of soft light can be a wonderful thing, too.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

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

Golden Hills, Desert Sky

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Golden Hills, Desert Sky
Golden Hills, Desert Sky

Golden Hills, Desert Sky. Death Valley National Park, California. April 31, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening clouds fill the sky above golden hills, Death Valley National Park, California

Today’s photograph is about as much of a contrast with yesterday’s photograph (winter in Yosemite Valley) as you can find in California, though both were made at close to the same time of the year. This photograph comes from the golden hills and broad washes along the east side of Death Valley south of the Furnace Creek Area.

Earlier that afternoon we had arrived in the park for a visit of several days. After getting settled we had a bit of daylight time still in the late afternoon and early evening, so we headed south towards these clouds. (The clouds were perhaps a harbinger of the strange weather we would have later on during our visit, including a full day of very cold weather and even snow high in the Panamint Range.) Many of the hills in Death Valley are not exactly of brilliant colors—this desert is quite different from that of, say, Utah. But in this particular area colorful formations rise from the edge of the Valley, and the rocks that have washed down carry that color out into the Valley… at least if you happen to be there late in the afternoon before the sun drops behind the tall mountains on the other side of the valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.