Tag Archives: tree

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

Melting Ice, Cathedral Range

July 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Winter ice melts on an alpine lake with the peaks of the Cathedral Range on the skyline, Yosemite National Park, California.

We hiked to this 10,000’+ lake near the Sierra crest in the late afternoon on the second-to-last day of June to photograph in the evening light, and were surprised at the amount of ice remaining in the lake and at the amount of snow still filling this small basin. Although the photograph was made during summer, the scene looks distinctly winter-like!

The lake was almost completely ice covered still, though the surface was covered with melt-water pools and there was a small bit of open water right along the shoreline at one end of the lake. The patterns of alternating ice and water were endlessly interesting, and the color variations produced by ice and water reflecting the blue light of the sky changed as the hour became later and as a few clouds floated near the crest.

Tuolumne Meadows aficionados will recognize the snow-covered peaks of the Cathedral range on the skyline, especially the distinctive summit of Cathedral Peak at the far right.

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

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 82mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/25 second

keywords: cathedral, range, sierra, nevada, mountain, peak, ridge, alpine, ice, covered, melt, thaw, lake, pond, gaylor, basin, snow, field, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, blue, rocky, tree, timberline, water, pool, sky, stock

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

Shoreline Reflections, Trees and Rocks

July 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

During peak snow melt many Sierra Nevada lakes overflow and flood surrounding meadows and forest. Although the water level was lower at the end of June when I made this photograph than it had been three weeks earlier during my first visit of the year, many areas in the margins of the lake were flooded. (This, of course, makes the mosquito population very happy – and human visitors less so!) The early morning sun back-lit these closely spaced trees and the rocks ringing this quiet flooded area along the shoreline.

I have visited this lake for many years. I’ve long been intrigued by this particular spot, where flat granite slabs line the shoreline, allowing the lake to expand and contract across shallows as the season progresses. Later in the season this spot can be dry, but early season in this wetter-than-usual year the water flooded this small pool and what might otherwise be shoreline trees were on a rocky peninsula. Those trees have been a subject for other photographers— being aware of this I wanted to avoid a photograph that imitated their beautiful work. I arrived in the early morning, when the air was still and cool and the water smooth. I walked about a bit and just looked, then came to this spot, where the complex patterns of the trees and their reflections in the water fill the frame, creating for me a sense of stillness and calm and quiet.

This photograph was a prize winner in the Yosemite Renaissance 2013 show in Yosemite Valley. Prints are available. Email me and/or see the Sales link at the top of this page.

This photograph is the subject of one of my “Photograph Exposed” posts, in which I share more of the story behind the image.

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

Cascade Creek – Trees and Mist

June 30, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

The spring torrent of cascade creek fills its narrow canyon with mist behind trees growing among the rocks.

I’ve been sitting on this second photograph of Cascade Creek, shot back near the beginning of June, trying to make some decisions about cropping and so forth. I finally have decided that I think I like this somewhat unusual (for me, at least) square format for this image.

Cascade Creek crosses beneath Big Oak Flat Road as it descends toward the Merced River and Yosemite Valley. For a few weeks during the spring snow melt season it can turn into a powerfully flowing stream, whose power is amplified by the steep descent and narrowness of the rock channel it follows.

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.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Tire Shop and Palm Tree

June 18, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

An old and dilapidated tire shop with a single palm tree.

And now a break for something completely different from the Yosemite photographs I’ve posted for the better part of the past two weeks. Last weekend I had a couple hours of free time during the middle of the day – the toughest time for light, especially so close to the summer solstice. So I decided to go out for an urban walk and see if I could make some photographs that took on this bright and harsh light instead of trying to avoid it.

I have photographed this building before. It is an older garage that is now a tire shop. The building is, despite being painted and so forth, quite dilapidated – window and door frames don’t line up, the stucco is cracked and patched, and walls and roof lines intersect at odd angles. The paint job on the building couldn’t be more, well, boring. The building is roughly gray, with some blocky black lettering and the painted image of a tire. There is no vegetation and a plain sidewalk runs in front of it. The whole thing just seemed perfect for a harsh, midday light photograph.

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