Tag Archives: sierra

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

Forest, Cliffs, and Snow

February 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A snowy forest leads into the mountains between cliffs and spires

The iconic features of Yosemite Valley are famous with good reason, and they continue to impress even after many visits. But over time you discover that these are not the only things to be found here, and that in almost any direction you look it is possible to find something interesting, beautiful, or even stunning.

Winter conditions change everything. In places where it will be warm in a few months and people might float past on the river, during the cold season the view can sometimes take on an arctic or alpine character. I like searching for and photographing little vignettes in the landscape, subjects that only become visible when I pause and take the time to look at the familiar landscape more closely. I used a long lens to photographed this little scene of a snow filled gully between two rocky prominences, leading upward toward higher snow slopes.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Distant Sierra, Wetlands Dawn

February 13, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Seen from foggy Central Valley wetlands, dawn comes to the sky above the Sierra Nevada

Driving toward this spot in the pre-dawn hours I encountered the usual winter tule fog as soon as I left the main highway for the narrow back roads that criss-cross the agricultural lands. I figured that it would be a foggy morning out in the wetland with the birds once I got to my destination, but instead the fog thinned as I arrived and, to my surprise, I could see the pre-dawn sky. I stopped, quickly set up my camera for bird photography… and immediately began photographing landscapes!

A bit of thin fogged hugged the ground a ways off in the distance. (And later it would glide back in and cover this area to the point that visibility was near zero.) Above the fog, the ponds, and the scattered trees the silhouette of the Sierra crest stretched from north to south. When I looked closely, I could pick out familiar peaks along the distant skyline. A few birds — geese and cranes — began to fly over, and I made this photograph as the sky lit up just before sunrise.

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

The Valley, Dusk Fog and Clouds

January 9, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dusk clouds and fog fill Yosemite Valley on an autumn evening.

This is, no doubt, a recognizable photograph of a recognizable place! Yes, Yosemite Valley, photographed from Tunnel View. And, yes, I shared another photograph from this same iconic (and over-photographed, perhaps?) location a few days ago. With that in mind, I’ll keep the explanation relatively short.

I was leaving the Valley after concluding the day’s photography and, as I often do, I briefly stopped at this spot. Initially I didn’t take my camera out, but after taking a look I thought the dusk light on the clouds and fog was interesting, so I went back to my car and grabbed camera, a lens, and tripod and went back to make a few photographs. Surprisingly, even though there had been a crowd of photographers lined up tripod-to-tripod earlier, almost all of them had left before this beautiful evening scene unfolded!

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Trees, Valley

January 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A grove of autumn aspen trees follows the path of a Sierra Nevada valley

I’ve had this one sitting on my virtual desktop for some time now, and I suppose it is time to share it! Some who photograph a lot in the eastern Sierra may know the location, though the specifics are probably not all that important. Here, as in other locations on the “East Side,” a river of aspen trees runs down a shallow water-course that drops from a ridge to a lake through sage brush country.

The photograph was made a bit earlier than usual for this location, in this fifth (and, as I write this, hopefully final?) year of California’s recent great five-year drought. This has affected the entire state, including the patterns of fall color along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra, where (to make a long story short) some trees have changed much earlier than usual and others have died. This familiar spot changed early, and I was fortunate to be there on this date when I would usually not be looking to photograph aspen color.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sierra

Forest, Cliffs, and Snow

Distant Sierra, Wetlands Dawn

The Valley, Dusk Fog and Clouds

Aspen Trees, Valley

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