Tag Archives: sierra

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

Quiet Forest, Reflected Meadow Light

March 5, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Forest trees are illuminated by soft light reflected from a nearby meadow, Yosemite Valley

This could be any number of places in Yosemite Valley where forest and meadow come together. I was walking from one photographic location to another when I passed by this clump of trees at the edge of the forest and thought about photographing them. I even set up and composed a shot… and then the light died. This was a day when the light was coming and going quickly, and this was especially true in this spot which was not far from the edge of the Valley and the boundary between partial sun and the clouds that gathered around the cliffs. So I continued on a bit and tried to find a way to photograph the other subject that had been my original goal.

Finishing that, I started back and soon came upon these trees again. This time the light was back. Off to the left of the trees was a large open area leading to an even larger meadow a bit further out toward the center of the Valley. As there was more light in the meadow and because there were clouds above, a good deal of the light reaching these trees was diffused side-light rather than the overhead light that might have been here if the weather had been clear. So, once again, I set up the tripod and framed a tight composition of these trees, a bit of the winter-dormant grass at their base, and the denser forest beyond. As I set up I could see that the light wasn’t going to last, and I had time for one decent exposure before the light died again.

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

El Capitan, Mist

March 4, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Winter mist shrouds the immense granite face of El Capitan, Yosemite Valley

One of the major attractions of Yosemite in the winter – for me, at least – is the variety of fog, mist, clouds, and all sorts of other weather conditions and their associated possibilities of light. (Frankly, I rarely go to the Vally in the summer any more.) The diversity of conditions seems infinite, especially when combined with variations in terrain and vegetation and, of course, light as it changes throughout the day and due to weather. At one extreme, a clear winter day can almost be more clear than you can imagine, with bright, crystalline sunlight everywhere. At the other extreme, low clouds dropping rain or snow can mute the visibility of anything more than a few feet away. In between lie atmospheric haze that mutes details and reveals shadows; clouds drifting along the Valley floor, rising up its walls, or floating among the tops of cliffs; rain or snow showers seen from a distance, and much more.

El Capitan seems like a cloud magnet in the winter. Because of its size the conditions at its base can be quite different from those above, and the lower face may be clear while the summit is wreathed in clouds. Evening fog often develops and drifts across the valley, sometimes seeming to slosh back and forth like a slow motion sea, rising against El Capitan’s base. This February day saw high clouds above the entire valley, but mists were developing and clinging to every level of El Capitan and sliding across and up its face, alternately obscuring and revealing bits and pieces of the mountain. I could sit and watch this for a long time – as I did, in fact! Using a long lens I isolated a section of the prow of the monolith and then watched as the cloud show unfolded.

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

Granite, Mist, and Trees

February 27, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A momentary beam of sunlight illuminates a granite outcropping and trees against a backdrop of clouds surrounding the upper cliffs of Yosemite Valley

We had one day in the Valley and despite challenging weather conditions were determined to make photographs. I knew that it was likely to be cloudy, but there was also light rain (and snow at slightly higher elevations), making it a rather gray day. However, in some ways these can be among my favorite conditions to photograph here. When it is cloudy or stormy in the Valley, clouds can drift among the feature high up on the surrounding cliffs and peaks, and sometimes there can be fog and other kinds of interesting atmosphere right down in the Valley – and I feel that these conditions are both more interesting and more challenging that a classic “beautiful day” in the Valley. (Not that I won’t take one of those, too, if it turns out to be available.)

Looking for interesting subjects we headed west on Northside Drive and found clouds obscuring the face of El Capitan, blowing enough that they would momentarily reveal sections of the giant granite face. We stopped at one of the locations from which hordes of photographers would attempt to photograph Horsetail Fall later that evening and I made a few photographs of this foggy sight, but then I turned a long lens towards other sections of the steep terrain above the Valley, looking for sections where interesting things might happen as the clouds drifted around and occasional sun broke through. As I lined up a composition that included various diagonals from rocky prominences and cliffs rising above, the sun began to shine weakly through the clouds and light up the closest rock while those beyond remained mostly gray.

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

Tree and Granite Wall

February 26, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A single tree grows against the face of a granite wall, Yosemite National Park, California

I’m well acquainted with this tree, though there is always more to learn about such things. It is next to a Yosemite road that I drive regularly, and near a location that I frequently stop to photograph in all seasons. Most often I’m not photographing this tree, but some other nearby subjects – but I always end up looking at the tree and considering its situation.

The tree grows very close to an impressively steep cascade of water, but it is not quite within the watercourse itself. Off to one side, it grows almost perfectly straight against the face of a very large chunk of granite that must have long ago fallen from the steep terrain above. While its trunk and branches, like those of many similar Sierra trees, can almost seem closer to rock than to a living thing, the green at the end of the thinner, darkened branches softens its appearance. And there is a bit more to the rock behind the tree if you look closely. There is a complex and varied pattern of lichen across its surface and in places it is broken up by cracks, such as the curving one at upper right whose curve seems to be faintly completed just to the right of the tree trunk.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sierra

Quiet Forest, Reflected Meadow Light

El Capitan, Mist

Tree and Granite Wall

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