Tag Archives: tree

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

North Shore Cypress Groves, Fog

July 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cypress groves in fog above calm seas along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in the Carmel area on this Saturday so that I could attend a lecture by John Sexton and the opening of his show at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel. (Be sure to visit if you are in the area, and also see the Ansel Adams show at the Monterey Museum of Art.) Since I was going to be in Carmel in the late afternoon, I figured I had a good excuse to photograph in the area in the morning and then again in the evening after the show.

I arrived at Point Lobos close to opening time for the Reserve and, not surprisingly, it was foggy. The unusual element in the conditions was the ocean – it was almost dead calm with barely a wave. I tend to rush to the coast in the winter whenever the surf is going to be wild and the wind high, so the quite calm on this morning was something a bit strange for me. I set off on the North Shore trail, taking a detour over the top of Whalers Knoll, before dropping back down the the trail along the cliff tops above the surf. This photograph was taken looking back along the north shore of the park from this trail.

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 65mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, cliff, water, pacific, ocean, monterey, bay, morning, kelp, shadow, rock, rugged, cypress, forest, tree, flower, nature, landscape, seascape, rock, california, usa, north america, shore, peninsula, carmel, seashore, sea, stock

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

Forest and Lake, Morning

July 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A forest ascending a slope is reflected in the smooth waters of a mountain lake in morning light, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I passed by this mountain lake in the morning I noticed that there was a very shallow layer of fog or mist sitting on the surface of the very still water and moving slowly in the gentle morning breeze. I’m always a sucker for trees (and other things) reflected in mountain lakes, and in this case the blurred mirror image of the trees attracted me along with the way the trees receded as they marched up the slope on the far shoreline. While the sun was most certainly up by this time in the morning, it had not yet reached these trees along the shaded side of the lake below a tall ridge.

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 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 91mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1 second

keywords: tenaya, lake, morning, reflection, mist, fog, smooth, quiet, green, shore, shoreline, rocks, boulders, trunk, forest, tree, pine, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, stock

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