Tag Archives: tall

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

El Capitan Meadow Trees

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El Capitan Meadow Trees
Tall trees stand at the end of El Capitan Meadow, against a backdrop of giant cliffs in hazy light.

El Capitan Meadow Trees. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Tall trees stand at the end of El Capitan Meadow, against a backdrop of giant cliffs in hazy light.

By Yosemite view standards, this is distinctly non-iconic, at least superficially. (Actually, the meadow is pretty well-known as a place to view climbers on El Cap, but this photograph looks the other direction.) But one of the great themes of this remarkable Valley is the juxtaposition of relatively common things (a meadow and some trees) with the uncommon (a cliff face erupting thousands of feet above the Valley floor.) At the upper right corner you can spot a few remaining late-May snow patches left over for this historic precipitation season.

I suspect that the first point of attention for most people in a scene like this is the powerful vertical of the two tall trees. But I see a whole lot of relatively horizontal layers in this scene. It begins with the nearly flat and very green meadow at the very bottom. Above that is a layer of (mostly) black oak trees. They are backed by a layer (or arguably several layers) of tall conifers. Finally, behind everything else, is the shadowed, vertical wall of this valley.

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

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light

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Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light
El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

This in alternate version of a photograph of this scene that I shared earlier. It was the first subject I photographed on a very long day when I arose before 3:00AM, drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Yosemite, photographed all day, and drove back at night, arriving home after midnight. After nearly four hours of driving I entered the Valley and stopped here, where the view opens up for the first time. At this early hour it was still quiet and the morning light was slanting through the thin haze between me and El Capitan.

You might wonder, “Why two versions of the same subject?” A complete answer would take more than a paragraph, but here are a few quick thoughts. Sometimes someone needs the photograph in a particular format, so in cases where the subject can work two ways I make portrait and landscaper orientation versions. Sometimes I just want to see how to make the subject “work” both ways… and then I may end up liking both options!

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Forest and Fog

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Coastal Forest and Fog
Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Coastal Forest and Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

When people imagine visiting the California coast, I’m pretty sure that most of them envision a beach, blue water, surf, clear skies, and abundant sun. That happens, in some locations more than others, but coastal fog is about as likely as that fantasy weather. It can be cold and damp and gray, but this California weather also has its charms — the sound of surf coming up through the fog, the chill air, the muted colors.

This photograph comes from a visit to a location south of Monterey on a very foggy morning. Most often the fog clears out early, but this time it stuck around all morning. (Though a short distance inland the sun was out.) I pointed the camera into a forest of fall trees, and the fog created a sense of atmospheric recession.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Canyon Narrows

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Canyon Narrows
A desert mountain wash winds through narrows between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Canyon Narrows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert mountain canyon winds through narrows between tall cliffs, Death Valley National Park.

Believe it or not, this is Titus Canyon, through which a remarkable road passes. The road runs almost thirty miles from near the Nevada border, over mountains, past old mines, and eventually emerging into Death Valley. Or at least it used to. We hiked into the canyon from the west end in late March — when it was closed to vehicles due to damage in a big storm last year. The road is essentially obliterated, and the canyon is as it was in pre-road days.

This photograph is an example of a principle that occurred to me many years ago when photographing redwoods and considering how to portray their extreme height. The counter-intuitive principle sometimes turns out to be, “go wide, not tall.” I feel that a wide landscape format creates a subjective sense of “it is so tall that it won’t fit in the frame.” In this case, I think it also emphasizes the twisting, meandering path that the canyon takes through the narrows.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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