Tag Archives: snow

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

Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment

Image Leave a comment
Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment
“Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment” — Clouds drift across the rugged slopes of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

If my memory is correct, I made this photograph as I started my long drive back to the Bay Area from the Eastern Sierra. My typical final day over there starts early with some photography at “one last spot,” after which I pack up and get on the road. But almost invariably I spot some distraction during the drive and end up pulling out the photography equipment along the way.

There is a lot of seasonal autumn stuff in this photograph if you know what to look for. Some is obvious, like the golden-brown grasses and high desert plants in the foreground. Some is a bit harder to spot, including the aspen groves on the lower slopes where the high desert meets the first conifers. Those soft, drifting clouds are another hint – they can happen at any time, but at this time of day they are much less common in the summer. Finally, way up on the high ridge there is a dusting of snow from an autumn storm.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

East Side Morning

Image Leave a comment
East Side Morning
“East Side Morning” — Early morning light on the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada near Parker Pass.

There are few sights more beautiful and spectacular than a shoulder-season sunrise on the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. Believe me, it is well worth getting up long before sunrise and putting on all of your warm clothes! Many of the best views on these mornings are from a distance away from the base of the mountains, where you have a clear view that stretches from the high desert at the base of the range right on up to rugged, snow-covered summits.

While my main goal for heading out there in late September and early October is to photograph the changing fall colors, the light and atmosphere change, too as summer fades and autumn arrives. When I went there on this visit I had just returned from two-and-a-half months of overseas travel, and I was missing “my Sierra!” I headed into the high country to set up camp, and from there I wandered on foot and by vehicle — and on this morning my wandering took me out into the high desert east of the range before dawn.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Gully, Morning Light

Image Leave a comment
Gully, Morning Light
“Gully, Morning Light” — A gully with a dusting of autumn snow is reddish in early morning light, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

While camped in the Sierra near the eastern border of Yosemite National Park during the early fall season, I decided to head down to Lee Vining and then turn south. My plan was to do some early morning photography along the base of the Sierra where the mountains begin to rise toward the crest and the boundary of the park. I made this photograph shortly after sunrise as the morning light worked its way down the escarpment.

The intense coloration of the rocky face is from a combination of warm colored rocks and very warm colored morning light. With the exception of a permanent snow field near the top edge, the rest of the white stuff in the photograph came from an early storm that had passed through the area the day before, leaving the sort of dusting that reminds us that winter is coming.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Evening Aspens

Image Leave a comment
Evening Aspens
“Evening Aspens” — Beams of early evening light on Eastern Sierra aspen groves.

As I photographed here in the late afternoon I was keeping an eye on the sun as it descended toward clouds and the Sierra crest to the west. These trees are beautifully back-lit by late afternoon sun, but it looked like that light source might disappear early behind the clouds. As it turned out, the partially blocked light created an unusual and dramatic effect as beams of light highlighted trees against the darker background.

I think that we like to flatter ourselves about our ability to find and take advantage of subjects and great light. We put a lot of effort into searching out visually interesting locations (a worthwhile endeavor!) and then being there when the light is likely to be ideal. But in the end we are, to a great extent, at the mercy of conditions. Sometimes that is a problem, but on evenings like this one the light gods send us an occasional gift.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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