Tag Archives: summer

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

Forest and Cliffs

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Forest and Cliffs
Yosemite forest, with many dead and dying trees, and cliffs near Bridal Veil fall

Forest and Cliffs. Yosemite National Park, California. September 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite forest, with many dead and dying trees, and cliffs near Bridal Veil fall

In early September, about a week after returning from over a month of international travel — and missing the entire month of August in the Sierra! — I finally got to “go home” to the Yosemite high country for a few days. I camped in Tuolumne Meadows, traveled briefly to the East Side along US 395, and returned home via quick stops in Yosemite Valley, Oakhurst, and a favorite winter bird spot in the Central Valley. It was a quick trip, but just enough to get me back in contact with the mountains. (It also let me take an early look at the upcoming seasonal changes. The signs of fall in the Sierra are clear: corn lily plants dying off and falling over, bilberry reddening meadow edges, little spots of yellow on plants high up on rocky slopes, a few golden willow leaves here and there, and a general sense that everything is slowing after summer’s frantic burst of life.)

I rarely visit Yosemite Valley in the summer, preferring almost any other time to the crowds that go there during the vacation season. Although this was a post-Labor Day visit, and the biggest crowds had departed, there were still lots of people there. After a visit to the Ansel Adams Gallery, where a show celebrating the role of photography in the parks was close to concluding (it included five of my prints), I started to head out of the Valley. As I passed this spot I caught a glimpse of drought-killed trees (with the help of bark beetles), other trees standing tall, and the cliffs around Bridal Veil fall. I noticed it too late to stop… so I took one more loop around the roads of the lower valley and came back to make this photograph in the afternoon light and haze.

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: Italy

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight

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Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight
A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight. Bologna, Italy. August 18, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Our August trip took us from Germany, where we spent five days in Heidelberg, south toward Italy. We drove, stopping for the first night in Munich, and then continuing on the Bologna for a night. Because we got a late start from Munich we didn’t arrive in Bologna until around sunset. We made our way to our (somewhat unusual — but a story for another time) hotel, got settled, and then decided it was time to find some dinner and look around a bit.

So we emerged from our abode onto a darkened street and soon realized that Bologna was, at least at this time on this evening, nothing at all like the northern European places we had come from. (An experienced ex-pat with how we traveled explained that Bologna isn’t exactly on the same travel map as a lot of other Italian cities.) The streets were dark, as most of the meager street lights had not yet come on. The area we were in seemed to have no vegetation at all. The streets were virtually deserted. I said that it had a kind of post-apocalyptic feeling. We found a nice restaurant (on another virtually deserted street) and sat down almost alone to have dinner. The experienced member of our group said to wait a bit, that at 9:00 or so it was still too early for many people, and that big groups would soon appear, trying to get out after the heat of the day. He was right. Soon others came to the restaurant, and when we visited a nearby square after eating we found lots of people, including this group at a cafe, just a few minutes before midnight.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Tufa, Sky, Passing Birds

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Tufa, Sky, Passing Birds
A small flock of birds flies above tufa towers and the vast expanse of Mono Lake beneath summer morning sky

Tufa, Sky, Passing Birds. Mono Lake, California. July 15, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small flock of birds flies above tufa towers and the vast expanse of Mono Lake beneath summer morning sky

It is easy to think of the tufa towers and being the iconic features of Mono Lake, and arguably they perhaps are. They are certainly the destination for many visitors to the lake, and I have often been to them before dawn to photograph the first light striking their forms. A small group of the towers are included in this photograph, too, though I don’t feel that they are necessarily the predominant feature here.

When I think of Mono Lake, other things come to mind before the tufas. One of the first associations is the immense space encompassed by the lake itself, the larger basin that contains it, and the huge expanse of sky overhead. Very close to that are two related non-visual associations — a great stillness (interrupted only perhaps by a few birds) and a profound silence. For me, this is a place to approach quietly and without hurry.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Commentary, Locations, Reader Questions

Visiting (And Photographing) Yosemite In Summer

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Today I’m sharing something I wrote elsewhere in response to a question by someone who plans to visit and photograph Yosemite National Park in late August. I have changed elements of the original post, shortening the original question and editing my own response a bit. Enjoy!

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I’ve never been to Yosemite but I have a chance to visit for a week in late August. I’ve heard that’s a very busy time, but that’s the time I have available and I’d love to see it.

I’ve ordered Michael Frye’s book  but am hoping for some additional information. I’m thinking of coming in the south entrance and am wondering of this is a good approach. Also, if anyone has any lodging ideas I’d love to hear them.

Michael’s book (“The Photographers Guide to Yosemite“) is a great place to start. It will help you find some of the subjects that you probably have in mind to photograph, and it is full of Michael’s general situational knowledge and experience about the park. Michael has an intimate knowledge of the place — not just of locations, but of daily and seasonal variations and more.

You are right that this will be a very busy time in Yosemite — it is more or less peak season! This affects not only the Valley, but also high country areas such as Tuolumne Meadows. Here are some thoughts about your visit. Continue reading Visiting (And Photographing) Yosemite In Summer →