Tag Archives: stream

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake

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Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake
Sierra Nevada ridge, forest, and lake viewed from the meadowy inlet stream

Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sierra Nevada ridge, forest, and lake viewed from the meadowy inlet stream

I made this photograph on a lovely late-summer morning at a Sierra Nevada backcountry location where we camped for about a week a while ago. Camped nearby, hidden among trees and boulders on a small glacial moraine, we woke each morning, emerged from tents, and were immediately in a target-rich photographic environment. We had choices — wander the nearby meadow and lake, head up the hill to bigger meadows, or embark on a longer hike above timberline.

The lake is more or less a Sierra classic. It sits on a bench above a deeper canyon, with low hill at the outlet end suggesting that the terrain was scooped out by glaciation. Above (and behind my camera position) the valley continues, rising well above treelike and culminating at a ring of high peaks. A river drains to the west in the valley between the lake and the more distant ridge. I made the photograph in the morning as the first direct light hit the meadow and the distant mountains were still in shadow.

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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: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Alder Thicket And Stream

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Alder Thicket And Stream
A small stream flows through the dense foliage of an alder thicket in Northern California redwood country

Alder Thicket And Stream. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small stream flows through the dense foliage of an alder thicket in Northern California redwood country

It was my first evening in redwood country, and I had only a few hours and little idea where to start, so I headed to Redwood National Park (part of the larger “State and National Parks” complex) and turned up a road toward a well-known grove of redwoods. I only stopped there briefly, deciding instead to explore further up the road even though I really had almost no idea what I would find up there. I finally broke out of the redwood forest at a couple of clearings from which I was able to get a broader overview of the surroundings. (It did occur to me that the larger one was likely there only because redwoods had been cleared from it many years ago.)

I now had a bit of a schedule to follow, as I hoped to find a place to photograph the last light of the day and then continue on to my lodgings in Crescent City. However, I often find it hard to resist a detour, especially when it looks like it might go somewhere interesting, so I turned off onto a side road that quickly dead-ended at the bottom of a canyon where a small creek flowed and the foliage grew very thickly. This was not actually a redwood forest location — at least not in this immediate spot — but the more open light among the alder trees supported lush undergrowth around this little creek.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Stream, Evening

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Meadow, Stream, Evening
A stream meanders through a subalpine meadow on its way to a lake, John Muir Wilderness

Meadow, Stream, Evening. John Muir Wilderness, California. September 1, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stream meanders through a subalpine meadow on its way to a lake, John Muir Wilderness

This photograph is the final one (for now, at least) in a series that takes me back to late summer, high in the eastern Sierra Nevada, base-camped for over a week with friends and extensively photographing the surrounding area. A group of us does this almost every summer, so a good thing is made even better through the combination of time devoted to beautiful photographic subjects, time spent in these stunning places, and time spent with good friends. We say we are there to photograph – and we certainly are! — but the truth is that we also spend a lot of time hanging out, talking, and just being.

I made the photograph on the last evening before our planned departure the next day to return to what passes for the real world. The location is a meadow right below our campsite, which was hidden in trees up on the hill of an old moraine. Strangely, even though we were camped right next to this wonderful spot I had not really focused my attention on photographing it, often instead wandering off to more distant subjects. On the final days of the trip it occurred to me that I should finally spend some time in this spot right in the neighborhood! So, late in the day on the final evening of the trip, off I went to walk slowly along the edge of “our” lake, crossing small inlet streams and traversing the surrounding meadows.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Crossing The Stream

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Crossing The Stream
Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

Crossing The Stream. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 31, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

I was out photographing around the lower end of the lake above this stream when two backpackers passed by. I was fascinated by watching them as they came through here, and their progression to and across the stream reminded me of some aspects of backcountry travel that are important and quite different from how we live our typical day-to-say city lives. They were moving efficiently as they approached the obstacle of this stream at the trail crossing. At first glance the crossing seemed obvious, with the trail clearly arriving and departing from opposite sides of this wide spot in its course. But, as is frequently the case, the crossing wasn’t as simple as it first looked — the water was unusually high for this time of year – and no ideal crossing was apparent. They stopped, looked around, tried a few options, finally settled on stepping across on slightly submerged rocks, and they crossed. The first hiker got across fine, and the dog followed, but the second hiker slipped into the water just a bit and then apparently lost a set of glasses. They pondered a bit, realized that they couldn’t get them back, and then set off, once again moving with a purpose across the meadow and on toward a higher lake.

I now think of something else when I see such backpackers, younger (to me, anyway!) backcountry visitors who seem in many ways like me a few decades ago. I envy their ability to carry large loads and to move quickly. I can still carry what I need to, but it is harder and slower than it once was! I also think about how much they cannot yet know about their potential future in these places, including the prospect that their appreciation and connection to the wilderness will grow and mature in ways that they cannot yet foresee. Sometimes I want to stop and tell them… but I never do.

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.