Tag Archives: slopes

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflected Mountain Slopes

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Reflected Mountain Slopes
Golden hour light on the lower slopes of a high Sierra peak is reflected by the surface of a lake

Reflected Mountain Slopes. Hoover Wilderness Area, California. August 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden hour light on the lower slopes of a high Sierra peak is reflected by the surface of a lake

On this evening our camp was at a large subalpine lake, improbably located directly on the summit of the ridge of the Sierra, albeit in a relatively low spot that was under 10,000′ of elevation. When I write “on the summit,” I mean it — this lake has two outlets, with one draining to the west into Yosemite National Park, and the other draining to the east, ultimately sending the water into Nevada.

It was a joy this year to once again to see the Sierra with snow on the peaks and filling the gullies. It was so nice that I even managed to avoid resenting the places where the trail was slightly obliterated by remaining patches of snow! As the evening arrived I found a high spot with a good view of the lake and surrounding mountains and made this photograph as the shadows of the last light of the day began to creep up the sides of this peak, with golden light reflecting off the surface of the lake.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wildflowers, Temblor Range

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Wildflowers, Temblor Range
Spring wildflowers on the slopes of the Temblor Range

Wildflowers, Temblor Range. Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. April 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers on the slopes of the Temblor Range

I have seen photographs from this region recently in which the wildflowers completely carpet the flat and even some of the upper slopes. While I did see places with such carpets of flowers — mostly down on the flats of the actual plain — in most places there were spots of intense flower color separated by much larger areas of grassland. The areas we investigated on this evening had much that character — we mostly hiked and climbed through green plants, though in places we passed through sections where the flowers were very thick.

Here there was a bit of variety in the colors — from orange through yellow to purple — and even some beautiful desert candle flowers. (Look closely at the lower portion of the photograph to spot a few.) This spot was a level area at the top of a ridge running up into the hills, and from this spot we could look up at many successive layers of ridges above us. In the late afternoon light the upper edges of these ridges caught the back-light, accenting the layers.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Early Fall Color, Rocky Basin

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Early Fall Color, Rocky Basin
Early fall season color comes to a rocky basin on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada

Early Fall Color, Rocky Basin. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 19, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early fall season color comes to a rocky basin on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada

This photograph has sat on my computer’s “desktop” for weeks — perhaps even months now — since I completed most of my autumn Eastern Sierra photographs for the year and moved on to other things.

It wasn’t first to be posted because it isn’t either an impressively colorful photograph nor one that is of an unusual subject. In fact, the spot is one that I know well — I photographed from a high place that I visit every year. This time I was there early, more mid-September than my usual early October. I was surprised to find this much color in this area so soon.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Autumn Evening, Eastern Sierra

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Autumn Evening, Eastern Sierra
Hazy evening light on golden meadow, aspen trees, and ascending slopes, eastern Sierra Nevada

Autumn Evening, Eastern Sierra. Along US 395, California. October 1, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hazy evening light on golden meadow, aspen trees, and ascending slopes, eastern Sierra Nevada

When I travel to the Eastern Sierra at this time of year, I always begin my trips with aspen color as my object. But once I get there I often — once again! — find a myriad of other subjects I associate just as much with the fall season. I made this photograph in the evening, not long before actual sunset, as the last sunlight was coming across the crest of the range and sweeping down across the dry eastern slopes. Rounded ridges, broken here and there by rocky outcroppings and scattered groves of trees, ascend toward the monumental eastern escarpment, here muted by autumn haze.

This spot is wild but not wilderness. A small cabin sits in the meadow at the base of the hills, gravel roads cut through the landscape, and at this time of year photographers, hunters, anglers, ranchers, and aspen-seekers follow gravel roads far up these slopes. This is a transitional zone, between the high sagebrush desert to the east and the conifer forest far above, and it is not the same Sierra of granite and conifer forests that most of us associate with the range. But if you travel up and down the east side much, you eventually learn that it is as much “Sierra Nevada” as any landscape.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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