Tag Archives: sierra

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Round Valley Cottonwood Trees

January 22, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn cottonwood trees beneath the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, Round Valley

I’ve long been captivated by this area at the base of the Sierra Nevada’s eastern escarpment not far from the town of Bishop, California. As you drive south near here you descend a very long grade toward Bishop, and at the bottom of the grade the route crosses a very large valley where the eastern edge of the range seems to retreat far to the west, and a broad valley rises from the lowlands towards much higher peaks. But along the northern edge of this valley the escarpment lives up to its name and is quite sudden and steep.

The valley seems agricultural, with cattle often grazing on the grasslands among the large cottonwood trees. In the late afternoon, and especially in fall when the trees change colors, the backlight coming over the crest lights the trees from behind and from the right point of view they can stand dramatically against the shadowed eastern slopes of the range.

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

Autumn Snow, Bear Creek Spire

January 17, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early season autumn snow below Bear Creek Spire, Eastern Sierra Nevada

This little lake might be familiar to a number of viewers who hike in the eastern Sierra, as it is not too far up a popular trail to other east side access points for backpackers and day hikers. I have been there quite a few times over the years, though rarely with the lake itself as the objective. There is one exception. I recall one pack trip quite a few years ago, when a friend and I had arrived at the trailhead quite late in the day. We wanted to get a head start on the next day’s hike, so we headed out and dusk and got just far enough up the trail to set up a crude camp (I was just using a bivy sack, if I recall correctly) after dark.

The story behind this photograph is a different one. As I often do in October, I headed to the eastern Sierra to photograph that annual fall aspen color show. My plans are usually quite general, and I prefer to sort of follow my hunches as I poke around in various east side locations looking for photographs. I had been working with a client who wanted a photograph of a peak that appears in this photograph, and when I saw the conditions (nice weather and new snow) it occurred to me that I might quickly find something that would work better for my client than the photos I had already proposed. So I drove up to the trailhead (which I often visit anyway), shouldered my camera pack, and headed to this quiet spot where the scene look at lot more like winter than early autumn!

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Morning, Round Valley

January 14, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Morning light on the pastureland and trees of Round Valley and the eastern Sierra Nevada

This lovely pastoral location sits at the base of the eastern Sierra, and is as much a part of the Owens Valley as it is a part of the Sierra. It is green and lush in the spring and early summer, it takes on some of the typical California golden color later on, and its brown grasses and colorful leaves produce a beautiful sight in autumn. It is not at all a “destination,” but it is a place that I always look forward to seeing when I pass up and down the east side of the range.

There are two particularly beautiful lighting conditions that occur here. One, which I’ll share in another photograph a bit later, occurs in the afternoon. The sun drops behind a tall ridge along the upper section of the valley, leaving the steep slopes of the eastern Sierra escarpment in shade while brilliantly lighting the autumn-colored cottonwood trees from behind. The other lighting, which is seen in this photograph, comes in the morning, when low angle light crosses the meadow, creating long shadows and gradually lighting up the backdrop of the Sierra.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Snow Flurries, Bishop Creek

January 11, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light autumn snow falls on peaks above aspen groves along the South Fork of Bishop Creek

This is a photograph from a wonderful, short trip into the eastern Sierra about five years ago. I believe that I made two trips to the “east side” that fall to photograph aspens, and on this one (the first of the two) I had a couple of days of winter-like weather with clouds and snow. This could put a damper on photography… unless you share my fascination with “interesting” weather, in which case it seems like that best thing that could happen.

I came back from this trip with some very special photographs, mostly because I ran into conditions that were not quite so typical for Sierra autumn. The most typical Sierra day at this time of year starts cold but then becomes warm and sunny with the beautiful autumn light. I love those days, but I’ve seen enough of them to like some variety, too. And that’s what I got on this trip. On one morning it was so cloudy up high that I decided to drive down out of the range and shoot back up towards in the broken light of a stormy dawn. On this day I headed back up toward the high country and photographed aspen color against a backdrop of mountain peaks disappearing into snow showers.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sierra

Round Valley Cottonwood Trees

Autumn Snow, Bear Creek Spire

Autumn Morning, Round Valley

Snow Flurries, Bishop Creek

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