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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove

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Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Burned forest near the Mariposa redwood grove in Yosemite National Park, California.

During my recent visit to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias in southern Yosemite National Park I hiked up the main trail through the grove. While the forest and occasional redwood tree to my left were certainly interesting, my attention was drawn to the burned area to the right. The trail in places followed the very edge of fairly recent wildfire, and in some spots crossed it.

I am fascinated with forest fire areas and how we perceive them. As a kid I remember learning from Smokey the Bear that forest fires are a tragic thing. But later I became less certain, and I came to view the wild fires as a natural and periodic element of a healthy forest. Aside from the human tragedies can accompany wildfires, I began to change my perspective on the aesthetic value of these burned areas, and I learned to see a certain stark beauty in them. A recently burned forest like this one is not necessarily an ugly thing if you look at it this way. The open light, verticals of black and gray, the intense brown of singed leaves and needles, the contrast with the reddish-brown of the forest floor, and the appearance of scattered new growth all create a special landscape. And a few years later as the cycle starts again and wildflowers and bushes grow wildly there can be a riot of color below the skeletons of the old trees.

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.

keywords: forest, tree, burn, char, scar, fire, wild fire, aftermath, brown, bare, growth, green, gray, black, mariposa, redwood, sequoia, grove, landscape, nature, travel, ecology, environment, fallen, california, usa, yosemite, national park, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

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Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A mother black bear and her two cubs practice their tree-climbing skills in Yosemite National Park, California.

I confess that I participated in a full-scale “Yosemite tourist experience” in order to get this photograph. Despite the fact that I’ve encountered California black bears many times in the high country while car camping and while backpacking – and I respect but do not fear these bears – this photograph was made during a less wild experience. I was driving back down Tioga Pass Road from Tuolumne and as I approached the right turn to pick up the main road out of the park I suddenly came upon many cars parked at odd angles along the road. I slowed, rolled my window down, and asked, “Hey, what is everyone stopped for?” The breathless reply was “a mother bear and her cubs are in the trees!”

Not having any decent bear photographs in my collection I decided to stop and see what I could get. I found a spot to park off the roadway, grabbed a camera and the longest lens, and walked back up the road to where others were staring intently across a small clearing toward trees far beyond – but I couldn’t spot a darn thing. Finally someone pointed out where the mother bear had last been seen, and I thought I spotted her head – in very poor light and crouched down low in the brush. I flipped on the image-stabilization on my 100-400mm lens, increased camera ISO to 400 (wanting to minimize blur when I hand held the camera) and got “mama” framed up. She was not a very photogenic subject, prone on the forest floor beyond some plants – but I was patient. Before long she began to move, walking among the trees, and soon her two small cubs appeared. I thought they might just be within range of the lens I had so I began to track their movements with my camera and shoot photos whenever something interesting happened. (Basically, I like to photograph wildlife – at least mammals – in much the same way that I might photograph people: I want the critter to look in a direction such that I can see its face, and if the animal is actively engaged in doing something, all the better.)

It seemed to me that “mom” was perhaps showing the cubs how to climb trees. She would edge them over to a tree and then they would start to climb. Before long both of the small cubs were scampering many feet up into the trees, and mom followed at least partway.

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.

keywords: black, bear, mother, sow, cubs, climb, tree, trunk, moss, ascent, forest, grove, wildlife, animal., nature, yosemite, national park, california, usa, travel, adventure, tioga, road, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove

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Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove

Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The massive trunks of five giant sequoia trees in soft afternoon light, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park.

Believe it or not, as much of the Sierra as I’ve visited, it has been (many) decades since I last visited the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias near Wawona in the southern area of Yosemite National Park. How many decades may shock you – if I recall correctly, it was when I was a child and my family visited. I’m pretty certain that we actually drove through the old “tunnel tree” before it fell. Since then I have visited other Sierra redwood groves but not nearly often enough. I was reminded of this last summer on a return drive from a southern Sierra pack trip took me though Sequoia National Park. I had forgotten the impact of traveling through a “normal” forest of large Sierra trees and coming upon the stupendous and massive red brown towers of these magnificent trees.

With this in the back of my mind – and the weather being more conducive to shooting in the forest than to shooting grand open landscapes – I decided to detour to Mariposa at the end of my weekend shoot in and around Yosemite. First, I found out – the somewhat hard way – that things have changed since my childhood visit. I naively drove to the road leading to the grove only to be met by the nice people in the international orange vests who informed me that there was no parking and that I’d have to drive back to Wawona, park my car, and take the free shuttle. Ah, well, probably for the best. So I joined the throngs on the shuttle system and returned to the grove. By this point my time was somewhat limited since the final return shuttle was scheduled to leave barely and hour and a half later, so I hoisted my camera pack and put my tripod on my shoulder and started up the well used trail, ultimately getting a bit past the “Grizzly Tree” before turning back. Despite the tremendous number of tourists joining me on this trail – many from places all around the globe – I was able to find some photographs in the afternoon light softened by partly cloudy skies.

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.

keywords: redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum, sierra, nevada, sequoia, tree, trunk, base, bark, grove, forest, mariposa, vertical, massive, wellingtonia, wawona, afternoon, light, diffused, floor, moss, travel, scenic, landscape, nature, foliage, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, stock, burn, fire, scar, brown, spring

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood Leaves After Rain

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Dogwood Leaves After Rain

Dogwood Leaves After Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water droplets from a passing shower on dogwood tree leaves, Yosemite National Park.

As I drove into Yosemite via the highway 120 “north” entrance, shortly after entering the park I passed by a large dogwood grove at the bottom of a steep descent. I know this spot well, and I watch if for dogwood blossoms every spring – and I can often find blossoms here long after they have gone from the Valley. On this morning the colors were intense from the previous day’s rain and due to the slightly overcast conditions. I was surprised to find that even at the end of the first week of June there were still some very nice looking dogwood blossoms and intense green leaves everywhere. The leaves in this photograph are on one of the dogwood trees in a shady section of the forest.

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.

keywords: dogwood, tree, leaf, vein, wet, water, drop, droplet, rain, mist, shower, spring, green, nature, plant, foliage, twig, branch, yosemite, national park, grove, forest, morning, spring, stock, california, usa