Tag Archives: snow

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

Storm Clouds, Pinnacles

March 2, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter storm clouds swirl around pinnacles above Yosemite Valley

We were in Yosemite Valley during the late-February season so that we could attend the opening reception for the 30th Yosemite Renaissance exhibit reception. For three decades this juried exhibition has been presenting work by a wide range of wonderful artists who focus on Yosemite and the Sierra. I am grateful that one of my photographs was included in the show again this year. It was wonderful to see so many Yosemite artists of all sorts, their beautiful work, and the large group of art lovers who came to view the opening.

Since we were in the Valley for the exhibit, we figured we might as well make some photographs! The weekend brought the promise of some much-needed snow in the Valley and the higher country. In the end the amount of precipitation was woefully small, yet colder temperatures, and small amounts of snow, and the swirling clouds reminded us of what Sierra winters are supposed to look like. As I stood at a famous overlook, in the company of many other people, I aimed my camera away from the main scene before us, angled it up toward the upper rim of the many, and captured this little scene.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Snow, Eastern Sierra

January 23, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunrise snow along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada

This is a part of California that probably impresses newcomers as being more of a desert than anything else, with rugged high elevation sagebrush country standing in front of the rocky and even more rugged eastern escarpment of the Sierra, where the creeks and lakes and forest glades of the range’s intimate landscape are too far away to be visible. I first loved the Sierra for its alpine wilderness, and back then I was not interested in places like this, but today I find them as much part of the Sierra experience as any alpine lake.

As I do every year at about this time, I was on the “east side” for the fall aspen color. And, as happens at least once every year, I was so distracted by some other element of the terrain that I forgot about aspens for a moment and went off to photograph something else. This “something else” was a combination of things. A light morning snow storm was clearing away from the highest peaks in the early morning light of this autumn day. This light was soft on the thinning clouds and snow flurries was stronger, direct, and more stark on the foreground of sage-covered desert hills

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: 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: snow

Storm Clouds, Pinnacles

Morning Snow, Eastern Sierra

Autumn Snow, Bear Creek Spire

Snow Flurries, Bishop Creek

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