Tag Archives: shore

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

Mammoth Peak and Kuna Crest, Overflowing Tuolumne River

July 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mammoth Peak and the Kuna Crest loom above as the Tuolumne River overflows its banks and floods surrounding meadows on a frosty spring morning, Yosemite National Park.

As I drove from Lee Vining Canyon over Tioga Pass and toward the Tenaya Lake area early in the morning, I came to the Tuolumne River where it passes under the bridge beneath the highway in the Tuolumne Meadows area. Just at about this moment the sun was rising high enough to begin to warm the frost covered meadow, at least the parts of it that were not flooded by the high water of the Tuolumne. Overnight it had risen almost to the level of the bridge and was so high that after passing under the bridge a small portion split off and headed into the trees to the right of the main branch. In a few weeks this flooded area and its reflecting surface will be gone, and there will just be a meadow and people will hike though it.

The backlight comes across the shoulder of Mammoth Peak, the high point near the end of the long snow-covered ridge of Kuna Crest, which runs parallel to Lyell Canyon toward Donohue Pass and the Sierra Crest.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Flickr | Twitter (follow me) | Facebook (“Like” my page) | 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

Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake, Sunset

June 15, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Alpenglow lights Mount Conness above Lower Young Lake in the Yosemite National Park back-country.

I was recently going through a large portion of my archive in search of a variety of photographs of Mount Conness, a well-known peak along the northeast edge of Yosemite National Park on the crest of the Sierra. This is perhaps not the best known peak in Yosemite for most people – they are obviously going to be far more familiar with the cliffs and domes around Yosemite Valley or with Mount Lyell (the tallest peak in the park) or perhaps Mount Dana (second highest peak, and towering above the Tioga Pass entrance.) Mount Conness is found a bit further “north” along the crest, and while it may be less known, it is certainly no less visible once you know where to look. You can see it in the distance towering above Tenaya Lake if you stop at the iconic Olmsted Point overlook. It is visible from many places along the road to Tuolumne Meadows. Once you get away from roads and into the high country it can be seen from almost any high point with an open view in the direction of the peak, including places like Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

This photograph was made on a quiet late-season evening at Lower Young Lake, a place that I return to frequently, most of the time in the off-season when fewer people are there and the fall colors of the high country are starting to appear. The peak (and many other features in this area) are beautifully illuminated late in the day as this high ridge is open without obstruction to the west. The light on the peak was magical on this evening, being colorful and contrasting with the higher and more drab clouds, but not being as gaudily bright as it can be on other evenings.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Elk Walking Across Grassland

June 11, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Tule Elk walking across grassland at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

I know I promised that the previous one would be the last… but, yes, one more tule elk photograph. (For now? ;-) This one was slightly apart from the others in the group as they began to move off to the right, and I managed to time this photograph so that the others were out of the frame. Beyond that… perhaps not a lot new to say about photographs of tule elk at Point Reyes! :-)

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

Point Reyes Lighthouse, Pacific Ocean

June 8, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Afternoon light reflects on the surface of the Pacific Ocean beyond the Point Reyes lighthouse.

(Some of the following is repeated from a previous post of the same photograph in a color version.) Although our trip to Point Reyes was not primarily to do photography, somehow I ended up bringing back quite a few photographs! This photograph was made from the iconic overlook at “the point” and right above the long stairway down to the historic lighthouse. On this afternoon high clouds were streaming in from the Pacific and casting a mottled pattern of light and shadows on the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

This spot is often completely socked in by clouds and/or extremely windy and cold. However, this was perhaps the most benign afternoon I’ve experienced there. The temperatures were very comfortable – we were a bit too warm on the walk to the point. The sun was out, and the wind was nearly still at times.

I wasn’t certain when I made the exposure of whether it would end up being a black and white or a color photograph. I’m still not sure! I’m sharing the color version first, but a black and white rendition will follow shortly.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.