Tag Archives: tree

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

Late Season Dogwood Blossom, Rain

Leave a comment
Late Season Dogwood Blossom, Rain

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

A late season dogwood blossom along highway 120 after morning rain – Yosemite National Park, California.

As I entered Yosemite via the northern road on the first weekend in June I was certainly not expecting to still see dogwood blossoms – at least not more than a few brown stragglers – so I was very surprised and pleased to discover that one of my favorite groves along highway 120 was still full of bright white flowers. Even better, when I arrived everything was still wet from earlier rain, making the colors more intense and leaving some raindrops on flowers and leaves, and the overcast from the returning rain storm diffused the light nicely. This flower was photographed in a deeply shaded 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, flower, blossom, bloom, bract, forest, grove, rain, shower, spring, late, season, morning, yosemite, national park, california, usa, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, white, green, wet, drop, highway, 120, foliage, nature, scenic, travel, stock

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

Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley

Leave a comment
Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley

Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The leaves and branches of a spring oak tree above the cliffs of Yosemite Valley, California.

I have photographed this oak tree before. It is one of several that sit near the edge of the drop off above the lower section of Yosemite Valley above the narrow section before the Merced begins its precipitous descent down the narrow canyon to El Portal; this is also the location of the first view of El Capitan and Half Dome as you arrive via the northern entrance to the park. I had stopped here to photograph those icons but decided to also photograph the new spring leaves on this tree with the cliffs across the canyon as the backdrop.

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: oak, tree, branch, leaf, bud, season, spring, twig, cliff, bokeh, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, foliage, stock

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

Forest After Morning Rain

Leave a comment
Forest After Morning Rain

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

Soft overcast light illuminates tall trees covered with moss following early morning rain in Yosemite Nataional Park, California.

I’ve had my eye on this little spot in the forest alongside the highway 120 route north entrance to the park – it is in the high section between the turn-off to Tuolumne Meadows and the beginning of the steeper descent toward the Valley through open terrain. I have a particular set of conditions in mind for the photograph I would eventually like to make at this location, and although those were not the conditions I found on this morning I stopped and made a few photographers here nonetheless.

The weather in early June of this year has been a bit unusual – at the time when thing usually shift over to the expected California weather pattern of long periods of clear blue skies and warm temperatures, instead we have had weeks of cloudy, cool, and often wet weather. (All in all, the latter tends to make for more interesting photography than the former!) As I drove into the park early on this morning the forest was still wet from the previous day’s rain and the overcast was already rebuilding towards another day of rain, and this made for intense and saturated forest color (especially the reddish-browns and greens of the moss and leaves) and wonderful diffused light.

As Yosemite subjects go, this one falls considerably short of “icon” status – but it is the sort of thing about the park that grows on me more and more.

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, trunk, moss, green, branch, bark, texture, vertical, litter, plant, leaf, rock, morning, overcast, light, grove, soft, filtered, light, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, spring, rain, cloudy, wet, yosemite, national park, california, north, highway, 120, dense, stock

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

Burned Forest Near Mariposa Grove

Leave a comment
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