Tag Archives: silhouette

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette

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Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette
East slope Sierra Nevada trees silhouetted against clouds and rain of a passing autumn storm.

Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

East slope Sierra Nevada trees silhouetted against clouds and rain of a passing autumn storm.

This is the wonderful sort of weather that wasn’t in the forecast and which catches you by surprise. It had been a sunny day with just a few clouds floating around when this cell appeared to the east of the Sierra crest. I hadn’t really been paying attention to it until I stopped here and looked toward basin and range country to see streamers of virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) falling from the building clouds.

It was late in the day when I made this photograph. The sun was at my back as I looked east, and long shadows from Sierra crest peaks were already falling across my position and these nearby trees. I was in this spot mostly to photograph aspen trees, but this panorama of desert mountain terrain beyond the east slope of the Sierra was arresting.

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.

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

Black Oak Trees, Morning Haze

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Black Oak Trees, Morning Haze
Haze from a managed burn drifts among black oak trees in morning light, Yosemite Valley.

Black Oak Trees, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Haze from a managed burn drifts among black oak trees in morning light, Yosemite Valley.

During my November 1 fall color foray to Yosemite Valley, I ended up spending a lot of time photographing these black oaks. In addition to providing the expected fall color, smoke from a nearby managed fire drifted in and out, varying from quite thick to just enough to add some atmosphere. The haze made the light more visible, sometimes producing light beams among the silhouetted trees.

For this composition I decided to use the dark shapes of closer trees to frame more brightly lit trees out in the meadow. On a technical note, managing the extreme dynamic range between the highlights of backlit leaves and the deep shadows in the foreground and near the sides was a challenge. As always, the trick was to try to get enough shadow detail to work with in post while avoiding blown out highlights.

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.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke

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Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke
Seasonal fire smoke drifts through a grove of Yosemite Valley black oak trees in morning light.

Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Seasonal fire smoke drifts through a grove of Yosemite Valley black oak trees in morning light.

This photograph comes from my early-November one-day marathon up-and-back photography visit to Yosemite Valley, timed to photograph the fall colors. Since I start these trips hours before sunrise, I can never be sure of what conditions I’ll find in the Valley. I knew it would be clear weather with relatively warm temperatures… but I did realize until I arrived and saw the smoke that there would be management fires in the Valley. These fires are a good thing — they reduce the dead vegetation that can lead to extremely destructive fires — but they can make photograph difficult. As I arrived in the Valley it was obvious that I’d be dealing with smoke!

At this time of year the colors of backlit black oaks trees can glow, so I headed to a place where I know that there are some good specimens and excellent opportunities for that backlight. Arriving there, I discovered that the fire was right next to and almost surrounding the location. This could have been a very bad thing, but I soon realized that the light passing through the smoke was glowing beautifully and producing light beams. I found a spot with this composition and waited for the light to move across this spot.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Autumn Light and Color

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Autumn Light and Color
Light through seasonal haze illuminates autumn trees in Yosemite Valley.

Autumn Light and Color. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Light through seasonal haze illuminates autumn trees in Yosemite Valley.

I have a few seasonal rituals, things I do and places I go every year. Visiting Yosemite Valley during its fall color season is high on the list. The Valley has color, but it comes later than the Eastern Sierra aspen transition. So I made one of my epic one-day up-and-back visits earlier this week. The plan: up hours before dawn, a four-hour drive to arrive just after sunrise, a few hours of morning photography, midday naps, more late-day photography… and then the four-hour drive back home again..

It is exhausting, but it is also exhilarating to see the peak color there once again, to renew my acquaintance with familiar subjects, and to investigate a few new ones. I know this specific location quite well — and if you visit the Valley much you probably know it, too. A gap in the Valley’s cliffs to the south-southwest allows beams of light to reach the valley floor and progress across the meadow and trees. I made a plan to be there for this light, and I made this photograph just as the light passed across this group of black oaks.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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