Tag Archives: sheep

Photographs: England, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Travel

The Shores of Loch Ness

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The Shores of Loch Ness
“The Shores of Loch Ness” — Trees grow next to sheep pastures along the shore of Loch Ness near Drumnadrochit, Scotland.

Perhaps you noticed — Patty and I were traveling from mid-May through early June. We spent three weeks in Scotland, followed by a visit to York and London. The main focus of the trip was to complete the “Great Glen Walk,” a weeklong 80 mile trek from Fort William to Inverness. It was, in almost all ways, quite different from our familiar Sierra Nevada pack trips and hikes — the terrain was almost entirely different, and we stayed in various civilized accommodations each night. So civilized, in fact, that they served us breakfast and packed lunches for us!

I made this photograph of the very green Scottish landscape on the second-to-last day of our walk, which ended in Drumnadrochit, very close to Loch Ness. It was a bit of an odd day. For one thing, we hiked this section “in reverse,” starting well north of town and walking back there. It also took us to one of the highest points on the walk, a wild and windy place above timberline. That aside, much of the hike was through lush and green forests, and here through an area of sheep pastures. Stay tuned: there are many more photographs to come!

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset

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Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset
The last light of the day touches the top of Sheep Peak in the McCabe Lakes Basin, Yosemite National Park.

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day touches the top of a peak in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park.

This is not a new photograph — rather, it is a reconsideration of one that I made almost a decade ago and recently looked it with new eyes. The location is in the northern backcountry of Yosemite National Park, in a somewhat remote area characterized by high ridges, rocky terrains, and some lovely lakes. I was there with a group of friends and photographers for a few glorious days during which we took our time and explored the surrounding terrain.

We were camped at a lower lake among forest trees, in a location that gave us shelter but also access to tons of higher, more alpine terrain. Often we headed off individually to photograph, but on this late afternoon we all headed to the same place, ascending a slope at the upper end of “our” lake to arrive at the next lake up the valley. Sequences of lakes like this are common in many backcountry areas, and I enjoy the individual personalities of the lakes as they are affected by terrain and elevation. This lake was surrounded by alpine meadows, very small and sparse trees, lots of talus, and towering 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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Utah

Three Sisters, Sheep Rock

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Three Sisters, Sheep Rock
The Three Sisters, Sheep Rock, and other red rock formations, Arches National Park.

Three Sisters, Sheep Rock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Three Sisters, Sheep Rock, and other red rock formations, Arches National Park.

There are so many things bound up in photographs like this one that it would be possible to write a book about it. This was my first visit to this landscape and, as such, it was part of the rare experience of being in a place that I did not know at all. It also raises questions about the value of photographing icons — hint: there is some, but it is complicated. It is a photograph I made some years ago, bringing up the value of revisiting photographs that were originally left behind or perhaps interpreted differently. It brings up the questions about what landscape photographers do when the landscape is inaccessible.

I made the photograph during perhaps my first hour or two in Arches National Park. For someone who read Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” decades ago, this visit was a long time coming. And, aside from that book, I came with few preconceptions about the park, and I had not researched before arriving. Consequently, as we drove in late the first afternoon I had almost no idea of what I would see. I was amazed.

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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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

Sheep, Morning Fog

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Sheep, Morning Fog
Sheep, Morning Fog

Sheep, Morning Fog. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 12, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sheep grazes under morning fog in an eastern Sierra Nevada meadow

There is a long tradition of grazing sheep (and cattle) in parts of the Sierra Nevada. Many years ago they were taken to the high country in the summer season – a practice that Muir railed against, describing their effect on the vegetation of the high Sierra as that of “hoofed locusts.” Today we don’t see grazing in the high country anymore since these areas are now protected as wilderness, outside or inside national parks in many cases. But the tradition continues in the lower country along the eastern side of the range.

For many years I have seen the occasional flock of sheep on the east side, sometimes close to the mountains (as is the case here) and more often a bit further out into the semi-desert highlands. Often there will be a shepherd standing guard and perhaps a sheep dog or two. (One flock we saw this time also contained, for reasons that I can’t quite understand, a single black mule.) Sometimes you will see the small trailer nearby where the shepherd lives. The flock in this photograph was one of two very large groups in close proximity to one another in an area south of Mammoth Lakes and right alongside highway 395. I had driven here to try to photograph the morning fog that was drifting from Crowley Lake, and we got there just as it was clearing from this spot, with light beams shining through the breaks in the cloud.

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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