Tag Archives: tarn

Photographs: Nevada, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Tarn, Ridge

4 Comments
Alpine Tarn, Ridge
A Sierra crest ridge reflected by the surface of a small alpine tarn in early evening light

Alpine Tarn, Ridge. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Sierra crest ridge reflected by the surface of a small alpine tarn in early evening light

This photograph came near the end of a special day on our weeklong (and then some) backcountry photography visit to the John Muir Wilderness area. From our campsite in the trees on a moraine near a lower-elevation lake we took off in various groups to explore higher country. Above us was a large alpine basin that rose gradually to the head of the canyon at just above 12,000′ of elevation, with higher peaks on all sides. As we walked we left the forest behind and entered the landscape of rock and sparse trees. Some headed toward a higher lake; I struck off by myself to arrive at the top of a gentle ridge of glaciated granite slabs, from which I could see further up there valley and down into some rock-bound lakes.

Eventually it was time to leave since the sun was dropping behind peaks to the west. I worked my way back down the slabs, eventually spotting Patty coming across from a different portion of the ridge. We joined forces and continued our descent to the creek at the bottom of the valley, making a small tarn our target destination. I had the idea that I might get there just in time to make a few photographs before the shadows reached the lake. As it turned out, I cut the timing a bit close, and almost as soon as we arrived the first shadows approached the left side of the lake. I had to work quickly, so I found a composition that included the jagged rocks half-submerged along the shoreline, the lake itself, and the reflection of the 12,000′-plus ridge still in full sun.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Mountains, Alpine Tarn, Dark Clouds

Leave a comment
Mountains, Alpine Tarn, Dark Clouds
Dark clouds assemble behind a ridge over a tarn nestled in an alpine meadow

Mountains, Alpine Tarn, Dark Clouds. John Muir Wilderness, California. August 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dark clouds assemble behind a ridge over a tarn nestled in an alpine meadow

I first visited this area a number of years ago — I think it may have been a dozen years now. I was on a fast and light trip with a buddy, carrying an ultra-light load and sleeping in a bivy sack. We entered this general area and went straight to a lake close to timberline where we made a base camp and went on to further explore the upper reaches of this basin. This return trip was different in many ways, but perhaps most of all in its almost exclusive focus on photography. We stopped at a lower lake and set up a camp, hidden in trees on top of a moraine, and there we would remain for more than a week, wandering out each day to look for photographic subjects. I soon discovered that I had missed a true gem on that earlier visit.

On the first full day of this recent trip we left our campsite and, in small groups, ascended the rocky moraine through small trees to reach a little use trail. We followed that upwards, still in forest. But then there were breaks in the forest cover and suddenly a large meadow covered the rounded hills at the top of an old glacially sculpted where a lake had likely once filled a shallow valley. (A small tarn is all that remains today.) Whatever your fantasy of a mountain meadow might be, the first sight of this scene exceeded it. The grasses were still green, even though it was near the end of August. Wildflowers in a rainbow of colors were sprinkled throughout the meadow. Peaks rose on three sides, and on the fourth side there was a deep valley with even higher peaks beyond. I returned to this spot many times — probably once a day for the next week — and I made this photograph a few days later, in the early evening as low angle light slanted across the meadow and distant peaks and dark thunder clouds began to gather in the further distance.

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.

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

Mammoth Peak, Kuna Crest

Leave a comment
Mammoth Peak, Kuna Crest
Mammoth Peak and Kuna Crest tower above the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River

Mammoth Peak, Kuna Crest. Yosemite National Park, California. July 14, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mammoth Peak and Kuna Crest tower above the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River

I have photographed this mountain a number of times. It is a weakness, but I know that the weakness is shared by quite a few other photographers, too! If you approach Tioga Pass from the east, as you pass Tioga Lake and ascend the last stretch toward the summit of the pass, this beautiful mountain lies directly ahead, straight across the pass.

It is often photographed from the pass or very close to it, and for good reason. There are several lovely tarns at the pass, and it is quite possible to include them and even the reflection of the peak in their waters. However, I wandered off in a different direction, a bit below the pass, spending a couple of hours exploring the upper reaches of Dana Meadows, which line the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River as it begins its journey to the confluence with the Lyell Fork and points to the west.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fallen Snag, Dry Tarn

Leave a comment
Fallen Snag, Dry Tarn
The bleached remains of an old dead tree lie on the rocks of a dry subalpine tarn, Kings Canyon National Park

Fallen Snag, Dry Tarn. Kings Canyon National Park, California. September 13, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The bleached remains of an old dead tree lie on the rocks of a dry subalpine tarn, Kings Canyon National Park

This year was the second of two very dry years in the Sierra Nevada and much of the west. The snowfall this past winter (2012-13) was far below normal and set records in some places. Last October and November it seemed like we might be starting a very wet season, which would have been welcome after the previous winter’s low levels of precipitation, but then the tap was shut off near the end of the year and there was hardly any more precipitation at all during the rest of the season, the portion when the majority of the Sierra’s precipitation falls. Consequently, this has been a strange summer in the Sierra. Although there may have been more monsoonal rain the usual, the effects of the depleted snow pack are obvious. The spring run-off occurred early and was anemic. By July much of the Sierra looked more like August, and I was already seeing signs of fall by early August.

With all of this in mind, it was no surprise to use to find some unusually dry conditions in the Kings Canyon back-country when we visited for more than a week in mid-September. (Though, in some ways, things were less horrendous than I might have expected. Perhaps this was a combination of going at a time when things tend to be dry anyway and, as a local pointed out to me, some recent summer rains.) On our first day at the location where we stayed to photograph for nearly a week I wandered up some nearby meadows towards a lake that I though I might want to photograph. Very close to my campsite I found several completely dry tarns. (A “tarn” is a seasonal pond fed by snowmelt, and many of them dry up each season.) This very old, sun bleached snag lay across the exposed rocks of this one, creating a stark images.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.