Tag Archives: still

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Shoreline

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Morning Shoreline
Boulders and forest reflected in the quiet water of a Yosemite National Park backcountry lake.

Morning Shoreline. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders and forest reflected in the quiet water of a Yosemite National Park backcountry lake.

This photograph takes me back to 2014, when a group of us spent a week in the Yosemite backcountry. We first visited this lovely lake set in a forested bowl not far from the edge of a big canyon, in an area with lots of beautiful granite slabs, a nearby overlook, and early autumn meadows. We left this spot after a few days and set up another base camp halfway back to our trailhead.

The lake is not a large one, and almost every morning or evening wander along its banks ended up being a circumnavigation. One shoreline was mostly forested, another was dotted with granite boulders, and a smaller area near the outlet stream was more open and flat. I photographed this scene one early morning just before the light of the rising sun managed to angle down to the shoreline.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Peninsula, First LIght

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Peninsula, First LIght
The first morning light strikes a tree on a rocky peninsula reflected in the still water of an alpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Peninsula, First LIght. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first morning light strikes a tree on a rocky peninsula reflected in the still water of an alpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Our group’s method is generally to pack in to a base camp location, and to then remain in that single location for a week or so. Many years ago, when my primary orientation was that of a backpacker, I recall being almost terrified of staying in one spot so long — I imagined that I would be bored. But the opposite turns out the be the case. I gradually push my boundaries out from the camp, learning the variables of light and conditions, and get to the know the area much more intimately. I may initially visit a spot in light that is just “OK,” but then make plans to return when it is likely to be perfect. (And when I blow it I can come back and try again!)

This lake was only a ten or fifteen minute walk away from our camp. I had visited it some years back on a pack trip, but only briefly. This time I was able to wander up there quite a few times, in both morning and evening hours. On my first visit of this trip I missed the timing on the light, arriving just after interesting light had left some picturesque snags. But on the visit when I made this photograph everything worked out just right. I arrived very early before the sunlight had made it down to lake level, and I spent time photographing in this quiet light. Then I decided to move to a feature that I had scouted on the previous visit, and that also provided the light I was looking for. Finishing that, I decided to climb a higher ridge and traverse around the side of the lake, but as I did so I looked back and saw this scene illuminated by the reflected glow of rocks that were now in sunlight. I stopped and made a series of photographs of this little peninsula, the dark and reflective lake surface, and the jumbled rocks along the shoreline.

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: Nature

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light

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Lake And Mountains, Morning Light
High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake.

Our group spent a week base-camped in this location a few years ago, getting to know the area intimately and photographing it and its surroundings extensively. The spot is quite beautiful, but many of its beauties don’t reveal themselves immediately. In fact, when I passed by here some years earlier I don’t recall even stopping! My only memory is of walking past a campsite and continuing toward my more distant goal. But a week spent in such a place — or almost any similar place — inevitably turns up treasures that are overlooked when passing through.

It turned out that a short walk in any of several directions took us to all sorts of photographic subjects: wildflower-filled meadows, granite slab country, streams meandering through timberline meadows, expansive views. In most cases “short walk” meant something between ten minutes and perhaps an hour. In the case of this photograph it meant “5 minute amble before breakfast!”

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Reflection

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Morning Reflection
The image of a shoreline forest is reflected in the still morning waters of a subalpine lake

Morning Reflection. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The image of a shoreline forest is reflected in the still morning waters of a subalpine lake

Since the Tuolumne Meadows campground (along with everything else along Tioga Pass Road) was still not open during this late-July visit (in the aftermath of a very heavy snow year) I ended up camping at a forest service campground just outside the park. Since this place wasn’t ideally located for photography I ended up doing a fair amount of driving — down 120 towards Mono Lake and nearby areas, or back up 120 into the park. On this morning my pre-dawn drive took me over the pass, into the park, and down through the virtually deserted Tuolumne Meadows area.

I continued on along this road, eventually arriving this popular lake to find it deserted at this early hour. Later in the morning the hordes would arrive here, but in the very early morning I had it to myself. The water was almost still as I set up my camera, with the tiniest bit of mist floating above its surface. I made a couple of exposures, and suddenly the reflections were broken up as breezes began to stir 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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