Tag Archives: tree

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

Autumn Black Oak Leaves and Branches, Sky

November 14, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Autumn black oak branches and leaves silhouetted against blue sky, Yosemite Valley, California.

Believe it or not, one of the difficult things about photographing in the Sierra Nevada is… the weather is too nice! Sometimes for weeks on end it seems that you might see only perfect blue skies… boring perfect blue skies! When I visited Yosemite around Halloween this year to photograph fall color in the Valley I was really hoping for the same sort of “awful” weather I had last year – two days of rain and mist and clouds. Instead I got weather that seemed more like late summer than autumn.

So, what the heck, if the shapes and colors of the Valley’s oaks appear overhead with the “perfect blue sky” as a backdrop perhaps I’m supposed to photograph them against the perfect blue sky. All joking aside, I was attracted to the intense and saturated of the color of the sparse leaves on this tree, made all the more intense by the sun shining through their translucent shapes from behind and the almost monochrome shapes of the branches, and contrasted with the deep blue of the sky.

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.

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

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road

November 12, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Sunset on Half Dome and El Capitan, photographed from Big Oak Flat Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

I almost always stop at this turnout along the Big Oak Flat Road entrance to Yosemite Valley when heading into the Valley and, if the conditions are right, photograph the view up the Valley past El Capitan toward Half Dome. (The turnout is just past the side road to Foresta as you head toward the Valley.) The morning view tends to be, obviously, backlit and often includes a lot of haze – which can be an interesting subject itself.

For some time I’ve wanted to try photographing this view near sunset. I have tried a few times during the past year, but either managed to miss the good light (it starts a bit earlier than I thought it would) or else I had flat and boring light when I arrived. On this afternoon I thought that the light might be more interesting so I managed to leave the Valley soon enough to get to this spot with plenty of time to spare. I actually arrived so early that I didn’t even set up my camera right away – but I was soon surprised by the full moon coming up above El Capitan! (Photos of that scene may be coming a bit later.)

As sunset approached the last light hit the forested ridge in the lower part of the scene and shadows from foreground ridges began to lengthen and get darker.

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.

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

Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road

November 10, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall colors come to plants growing in cracks in a rock face alongside Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I drove across the Sierra via Tioga Pass Road in late September I was watching for early fall color, which often just gets going at about this time. Most of the good color is east of the crest, but there is one area near where the road crosses Yosemite Creek where I sometimes spot some yellow leaves – and, sure enough, as I passed this spot I saw some interesting color along the rock walls beside the road.

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.

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

Fall Foliage, Yosemite Valley

November 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall color in a meadow near Yosemite Falls – Yosemite Valley, California.

I decided to push the boundaries of “ideal shooting time” on this one – it was made less than an hour before noon in midday light that might often have me starting to take my midday break. I think two things made it possible to shoot this subject in this somewhat difficult light. First, the light coming through the leaves of these black oaks (and to some extent the cottonwoods in the distance) creates an effect that it not typical of midday shooting. Secondly, the deeply shaded cliff walls along the south side of The Valley gave me a background that was not harshly lit. (The bright grasses in the meadow were a bit tough, but I think they are under control here.)

It might surprise some to find out that this landscape image was made using a relatively long lens – a 70-200mm zoom at about 130mm. Here it helped me control the composition – making the trees seem a bit closer to one another and affecting the area of the cliff seen beyond.

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.

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, color, yellow, gold, green, orange, brown, golden, meadow, grass, black, oak, pine, cottonwood, tree, grove, forest, cliff, rock, wall, village, falls, foliage, stock

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