Tag Archives: tree

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tree Trunks, Cypress Forest

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Tree Trunks, Cypress Forest
Tree Trunks, Cypress Forest. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. August 24, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of forest floor and cypress tree trunks. Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

This was a tough photograph, and one that I’ll probably return to work on again. It was a foggy morning at Point Lobos and I had arrived in time for the hoped-for clearing that I expected to occur within the hour. I found this composition and set up and waited for the light. I got just a bit of filtered light through the fog but then the transition from fog to sun stopped. While I never got quite the light I was looking for, I am pleased with how this turned out.

It was a bit amusing to see the reactions of other hikers as they walked past. Some perhaps assumed that there must be a “great photograph” there since my tripod supported what probably looked like substantial equipment and I was standing there holding a remote release. Some would walk past and take a sneaky glance along the cameras line of sight – and I could tell they were perplexed. During the wait for decent light, however, I did get to indulge in one of my favorite little hobbies – offering to take group pictures of other visitors with their cameras so that no one would be left out. :-)

keywords: black and white, forest, floor, cypress, tree, trunk, point lobos, state, reserve, california, usa, monterey, peninsula, carmel, bay, nature, landscape, travel, scenic, grass, rock, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo

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High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo
High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The High Sierra Trail crosses a small stream as it begins to climb out of Big Arroyo toward the Chagoopa Plateau.

On this day our route traveled from the old cabin in Big Arroyo out to Moraine Lake on the Chagoopa Plateau. This section of trail was near the start of the day’s walk as we began our climb out of the Arroyo, through a trail section that was often under forest cover and was crossed frequently by small creeks. I’ve been across this trail section more than once, and this time I managed to avoid being surprised by the climb. When you arrive in Big Arroyo from Kaweah Gap the view convinces you that you have nothing but downhill between there and the Kern Canyon – but you are quite wrong. The trail does follow the bottom of the Arroyo for a few miles, but then it climbs – more steadily and more steeply than you might think – up the east side of the valley to reach the flat area of Chagoopa Plateau.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Two Snags – Big Arroyo

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Two Snags - Big Arroyo
Two Snags – Big Arroyo. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of two trailside snags above Big Arroyo with Great Western Divide in the distance, Sequoia National Park, California.

This photograph was made on Sequoia National Park’s High Sierra Trail as it climbs out of Big Arroyo and onto the Chagoopa Plateau before eventually dropping down into the depths of the Kern Canyon.

I was in full “head down and climbing the trail” mode when I almost walked right past these trailside snags, but my friend Ernie fortunately pointed them out to me. Ernie’s not really a photographer – though he takes far more great photos of fellow backpackers than I – but he notices a lot on the trail. He was the champion at running into wildlife on the August 2008 High Sierra Trail trip, typically managing to discover a couple rattlesnakes each day and on another day discovering a small mammal that the rest of us had never seen in the Sierra.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Elevation Forest Near Crabtree Meadow

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High Elevation Forest Near Crabtree Meadow

High Elevation Forest Near Crabtree Meadow. Sequoia National Park, California. August 10, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of morning light in a high elevation forest between Wallace Creek and Crabtree Meadow on the John Muir Trail, Sequoia National Park, California.

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