Tag Archives: travel

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen

October 13, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I had passed by this section of rocks and cliffs just below Parcher’s Resort earlier in the day, noting the interesting trees against the jumbled background of the rock – but I decided against shooting there at first because the direct sun was still hitting the trees. Instead, I made a mental note to check back much later in the afternoon after the sun had moved lower and further west to put this area into diffused shadow lighting.

I came back later – when it was getting quite cold! – and wandered up and down this area making several exposures. The trickiest thing was that it was extremely windy. Low light, strong wind, and fluttering aspen leaves tend to conspire to make photography tricky, and this was no exception! The best approach seemed to involve not only high ISO… but also a great deal of patience. Once I set up a shot I would wait… and wait… and wait for a small lull in the wind, during which I would squeeze of a few exposures.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves Near Conway Summit

October 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Aspen leaves take on fall colors in the middle of a grove near Conway Summit, California.

This is more or less my first autumn aspen color photograph of the 2009 season. Near the end of September I was in the Sierra for a few days, mostly to backpack into Cathedral Lakes for a bit of photography – but after emerging from that trip I had just enough time for a quick trip over Tioga Pass to the “east side” near Lee Vining and then around Conway Summit and Virginia Lake.

In the past I’ve found that the aspens up high on the road to Virginia Lake seem to change fairly early, and they have often lost their leaves even while trees elsewhere are still in good condition. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to try to make an early trip up this road. As you start up the Virginia Lake Road from Conway Summit you soon begin to pass some fairly large groves of aspen trees. The first grove, along the right side of the road, was still almost completely green. However, just up the road from here and on the left side is another grove at the turn-off for a gravel road – and this grove was in great shape. Many of the leaves had turned golden, and a few had turned hues of red and orange. At the same time there were still quite a few green leaves and only a few leaves had fallen.

As the sun dropped closer to the high ridge of the Sierra crest above Virginia Lake, the east side of this grove began to fall into shade – which can be the best of conditions for photographing the intense colors of these leaves.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market

October 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forms of large downtown San Francisco buildings near the foot of Market street in morning light.

Near the foot of Market Street, close to the Ferry Building and the Bay, the morning light coming across the water lit these buildings in a special way – something to do, I think, with the low angle of the light, the fact that the fog was just clearing, and the blue sky with thin clouds above. Although the buildings are in direct sun, the light is partially softened and interrupted by the remaining fog clouds over the Bay to the east. When I shot this I had a pretty good idea that it would end up as a black and white photograph.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Morning, South Beach Harbor, Clearing Fog

October 7, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

South Beach Harbor, Clearing Morning Fog

Moored boats float in calm water under morning high fog on San Francisco Bay at South Beach Harbor.

The South Beach Harbor is a favorite subject of mine when I take the train to San Francisco to do photography on foot. I often walk from the Caltrain station past AT&T Park towards the Embarcadero, which takes me right to this spot. If the combination of still water, fog, and/or early morning light is right I usually stop and shoot here a bit before moving on.

On this morning the water was just about as smooth as I’ve ever seen on this part of the San Francisco Bay. Although there was fog, it ws the higher variety that still permits long views across the water, and it was already clearing when I arrived.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.