Tag Archives: tree

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point

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Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point

Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Falls early on a hazy spring evening, with Glacier Point outcropping in the foreground. (black and white version – color version will be posted tomorrow.)

Note: It seems a bit ironic that this photograph would appear from the queue on the day I return from a Yosemite trip that was very much affected by the terrible wildfire smoke covering much of California right now. While this photograph depended on some haze, it sure would not have looked like this yesterday!

Double irony: As I shot this very interesting and hazy scene, there were lots of other photographers there firing away at the obvious – and not too interesting – view of Half Dome to the right. Always good to look around and see what else is there to shoot! :-)

keywords: california, national park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, valley, falls, glacier point, rock, boulder, mountain, evening, afternoon, haze, tree, forest, view, meadow, mist, usa, travel, scenic, view, landscape, stock, black and white

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

Ansel’s Tree

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Ansel's Tree
“Ansel’s Tree” — The snag that remained in 2008 of the tree in Ansel Adam’s “Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome.”

This is all that remained in 2008 of the Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Dome that was the subject of the famous Ansel Adams photograph,”Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome.” Somewhere I even have my early attempts at trying to do the “Ansel Adams thing” with my black and white film camera when I was much younger, featuring one or more photographs of this very tree, while it was still alive. Trust me, if you are a Sierra Nevada landscape photographer of a certain age, you knew this tree and probably visited it.

I photographed this close-up “portrait” many years after the tree died, while on a quick hike over to the summit of Sentinel Dome along the Glacier Point Road in 2008. Things change slowly in the Sierra, but they do inevitably change. This is now, objectively speaking, another dead snag atop a Yosemite granite dome — however, this snag has achieved a sort of iconic status. Yet, perhaps there will eventually be another, maybe even the younger tree seen in the background beyond the dead stump.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Waterfall on Cascade Creek

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Waterfall on Cascade Creek. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Waterfall on Cascade Creek along Big Oak Flat Road near Yosemite Valley. This is one of the most easily accessible waterfalls in Yosemite – it is just above a bridge on the road dropping into the Valley from Big Oak Flat and the creek passes right beneath the roadway.

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, big oak flat, road, bridge, cascade, creek, fall, waterfall, boulder, stream, tree, trunk, sun, light, leaves, needle, branch, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, mist, spray, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark

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Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark
Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

In mid-May made a quick one-day run up to Yosemite and back to get reacquainted with the waterfalls – at that time in full spring flow – and see the Valley coming back to life again after winter. In the evening I found myself at Glacier Point watching another stunning Sierra Crest sunset. This photograph was made as the very last light touched the top of Mt. Clark.

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, merced, river, mount, mt. clark, sierra, nevada, mountain, crest, ridge, peak, fall, waterfall, evening, sunset, twilight, alpenglow, tree, forest, dome, granite, mist, trail, snow, glacier point, view, scenic, travel, landscape, california, usa, stock