Tag Archives: thicket

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.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Winter Trees

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Winter Trees
Bare winter trees alongside the Merced River

Winter Trees. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare winter trees alongside the Merced River

There is a, obviously, a lot to see in Yosemite Valley and the rest of this famous national park. Many of the iconic sights are well-known and there is little question why. (As someone said, “They are icons for a reason!”) We all love those familiar domes and cliffs and waterfalls, and we all photograph them. But eventually, after spending quite a bit of time in this place, it is easy to see that there are plenty of other things worth looking for in the Valley and beyond.

Most people are familiar with these scenes in spring and summer, and the ideal includes lots of greenery, perhaps some colorful wildflowers, flowing rivers and waterfalls. But those conditions account for only a small portion of the year here, and especially in late fall and winter you are more likely to find dormant meadows, leafless deciduous trees, rain or snow, and very different light. These trees grow in a location that in spring and summer is noted for green meadows, a flowing river, and sun and warmth When I photographed it this time it was very cold, at the end of a winter day, and thin light was coming through high clouds and softly lighting the bare trunks and branches of these trees.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Aspen Grove

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Autumn Aspen Grove
An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove beginning to change colors

Autumn Aspen Grove. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove beginning to change colors

How about a bit of fall color on this early summer morning? Every summer I begin to think about fall. There are wonderful things about summer — schedules, warmth, easier access to mountains, and more — but I prefer autumn. It is partially something as mundane as my preference for cooler temperatures, but it is also that I like times of obvious transition and times when nature has a slightly sharper edge. I’ll enjoy this summer, but I’m sure that every aspen tree I see in the Sierra in the next few months will make me look forward to autumn.

This aspen color vignette is a small scene from a much larger grove that runs up a hillside in the eastern Sierra Nevada. I prefer to photograph it early and late in the day when the surrounding peaks cast shadows across the trees, both softening the light and opening up the shadows a bit. Among the larger grove are many small scenes where straight trunks (not the norm in the Sierra) are visible among the leaves. On this very early October day most of the grove was still green, but the seasonal change was beginning with some of the smaller trees.

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

Riparian Thicket, Yosemite Valley

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Riparian Thicket, Yosemite Valley
Riparian Thicket, Yosemite Valley

Riparian Thicket, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California. February 13, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hazy afternoon winter light in a thicket of trees along the banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

A shorter than usual post today, as I’m dealing (successfully!) with an unexpected eye problem, and one effect of the treatment is that I need to minimize computer/reading/writing time for a few days. (The short story is that I had retinal detachment, we caught it right away, were able to treat it on an out-patient basis, I’m home, and the results look fine. In short, what looked scary at first appears to be heading towards an excellent outcome.) So, briefly…

A week ago I was in Yosemite Valley for about two hours between visits to a couple of other places, and I had time to photograph around one of the large meadows late in the day, as the afternoon sun was dropping toward the tops of the cliffs and the hazy air became luminous. I wandered over to a section of the Merced River where I like to photograph cottonwood trees in spring and fall, and looking down the river I saw this little vignette in the backlight.

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.
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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.