Tag Archives: subalpine

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

The Crossing

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The Crossing
A Sierra Nevada backcountry trail crosses the outlet stream of a subalpine lake.

The Crossing. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Sierra Nevada backcountry trail crosses the outlet stream of a subalpine lake.

I pondered whether or not this photograph should make it from raw file stage to finished work, but finally decided to go ahead and share it. It is a bit of a hard scene to make sense of, at least if you aren’t somewhat familiar with such places already — more on that in a moment. In the end, something about it “works” for me, so I’ve decided to go ahead and share.

The spot is perhaps no more special that thousands of similar places in the Sierra. But, in a way, that is what makes it special — such little intimate landscapes are everywhere and they form the identity of the range, more, I think, than impressive and iconic peaks. Once you get into the Sierra it is, fundamentally, an intimate landscape. You walk along narrow trails, though forests or meadows or rock fields, and cross streams, step around boulders, listen to the sound of your own footsteps and perhaps your trekking poles clattering on rock. Here the scene is from the season when everything slows down near the end of summer. This little spot was brilliantly green, with higher water and wildflowers only weeks earlier, but by this point in late September it has gone yellow and brown and winter snows are just around the corner.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees, Granite, Reflections

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Trees, Granite, Reflections
A granite outcropping and trees reflected in the surface of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Trees, Granite, Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A granite outcropping and trees reflected in the surface of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

This scene was along the edge of a lake I visited on several evenings, hiking up from our base camp during our September week in the Eastern Sierra Nevada backcountry to make photographs. The logical starting point for photographs here was near the lakes outlet, where there was a small, rocky meadow and several nice granite outcroppings that extended into the lake. I initially began by photographing there.

But soon the light left that area and I decided to wander around a bit more. Not far away was a small bay extending off from the main body of the lake, and on the other side of this bay several attractively twisted and bent trees stood on and in front of a large granite outcropping.

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

Shoreline Meadow And Forest

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Shoreline Meadow And Forest
September light on forest and meadow lining the shore of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Shoreline Meadow And Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

September light on forest and meadow lining the shore of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Having set up a base camp nearby and remained there for slightly more than a week, I got to know this lake and its surroundings very well during my September 2018 visit. Because of the high ridges to the north and south, the length of time when the area was in the direct sun was shorter than is typical in such places at this time of year — we have a couple of hours at the start and end of the day when the lake fell into the shadow of these great ridges. But when that sun did come out the light was often glorious.

At this elevation, close to 11,000′, the eastern Sierra trees become quite short and their grow in an open manner that allows a lot of light to penetrate. (Hence, the “range of light!”) There was forest around this lake, but much of it was composed of these smaller, high elevation trees. Along the shoreline where I made this photograph, a meadow like area descended from the left to a narrow band of grasses lining the lake’s shore. Trees grew on the rocky rise along this side of the lake, perhaps an old moraine. When I made the photograph the light was coming through from the right at a low angle, and there was a bit of haze between my position and the high ridge in the distance.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light

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Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light
Late afternoon light on a rocky peninsula on a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

Subalpine Lake, Late Afternoon Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon light on a rocky peninsula on a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

This is a photograph that required a bit of persistence! During our September stay in the Eastern Sierra Nevada backcountry, I first walked up to this lake several days before I made this photograph. When I arrived for the first time I made a guess as to where I might find a photograph, but the guess was wrong! As the light faded I tried a different spot, and I found a good one, but I missed the best light. I made a mental note to come back, and even noted the specific spot to be in. A day or two later I headed back in that direction late in the day, with plenty of time to get there before the good light arrived… but then I got distracted by some other attraction, spent too much time on it, and arrived at this lake — you guessed it! — about three minutes too late! However, I did have a bit more time to consider the location and timing of the shot I had it mind.

I went back one more time, and this third time was almost not a charm. I got there plenty early and found my spot well before the good light… and discovered a woman set on fishing from the lovely rocks on the peninsula in the center of the photograph! Since I was early I decided to wait quietly and not try to convince her to get out of my shot, but I did explain what I was there for. I waited. She continued to fish. I began the internal debate about just how aggressive I should be about trying to get the shot. I think she figured out that I really wanted this photograph, since about five minutes before I made it she moved on to another spot on the other side of the rock. (She continued to fish, and I had to time my exposures between her casts, when sent line right into the water beyond the rocks.) In the end my persistence paid off, and I got a photograph that I like — to me it seems to capture that lovely late-day, late-summer light in the high country, and it even includes some really lovely color in the water. I finished the photography here… and had time left over for a short hike to the top of a nearby pass before the light faded.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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