Tag Archives: shore

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Rocky Shoreline, Reflections

Image Leave a comment
Rocky Shoreline, Reflections
Talus boulders and their reflection at the edge of a Sierra Nevada lake.

Rocky Shoreline, Reflections. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Talus boulders and their reflection at the edge of a Sierra Nevada lake.

Three summers ago a group of us (yes, THAT group) spent a week camped at a little backcountry lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. The lake is a pretty one, with forest on one side, rocks on the other, and a few areas of meadow and granite slabs here and there. All in all, a fairly typical sort of scene in the range. Beyond the lake itself, the valley that holds in also contains many other small lakes and is surrounded by ridges and peaks, all of which gave us plenty to photograph.

This photograph comes from the rocky side of this lake. A common pattern with high country lakes is for there to be some flat area(s) along one side and perhaps at the inlet and outlet streams, and for one side to be close to some sort of slope. Anyone who tries to circumnavigate such lakes is familiar with the difficulties of finding a way along that rocky side. The rocky slope next to this lake was exceptionally rough, with large boulders extending right down to the shoreline. What it lacked in “walkability” it made up for in reflections. A much higher ridge above the rocks left this area in shadow late in the morning, producing a nice blue tonality to the light.

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 | 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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Peaks, Dawn

Image Leave a comment
Lake and Peaks, Dawn
The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

Lake and Peaks, Dawn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first light touches high peaks above an eastern Sierra Nevada lake, John Muir Wilderness.

There is an earlier photograph of this scene that is very similar to this one, so similar in composition that you might have to see them side-by-side in order to recognize the differences. Due to exposure challenges (deeply shadowed foreground and brightly lit peaks) I made a series of exposures. Recently, while working on a project, I went through the group of images again and decided that this one had some promise, too. I think I’ve decided that I like this one better now!

Our group was camped for a week at this location, a place almost completely surrounded by high, rocky terrain that extended all the way to the Sierra crest. It is a lovely place, full of varied subjects. In fact, I made this photograph less than a minute’s walk from my tent! It almost seems like cheating when I can roll out of my sleeping bag in the morning, crawl out of the tent, walk a 100 feet and start photographing.

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 | 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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Peak, Lake, and Boulders, Sunset

Image Leave a comment
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.

Blog | About | 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.

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

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

Autumn Haze, Big Sur Coast

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Haze, Big Sur Coast
Autumn haze hugs the rugged Big Sur coastline.

Autumn Haze, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn haze hugs the rugged Big Sur coastline.

One of the things that I’ve missed during the past few months is the opportunity to experience landscape on the grand scale. Given the impediments to long-distance travel during the pandemic, a lot of my photography has been done very locally — on daily walks, on hikes in nearby natural areas, and so forth. For this reason — in addition to all of the other usual reasons — a recent day trip down the Big Sur coast was a special joy.

I think of this as a fairly “quiet” image. Yes, this is a stupendously rugged coastline and, yes, that is the Pacific Ocean. But it was a mostly quiet and calm day, without the crowds that are often found along this section of the California coast, and here the coastal haze muted the colors and the outlines of the headlands and buttresses along this section of the Pacific Coast Highway.

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 | 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.

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