Tag Archives: tree

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper and Striped Sandstone

July 2, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A vertically striped sandstone cliff behind a juniper tree

My recollection is that we had driven into this deep canyon at Capitol Reef late in the day, and that we stopped to photograph as we began to head back out of the canyon not long before sunset. Because of the late hour, although it was still daytime, the light was blocked here by the very tall walls of this narrow canyon.

We stopped here largely because of the remarkable vertical stains on the smooth sandstone walls. In many places this layer of sandstone is almost monolithic, but here the staining produced sharp vertical lines and broke up the otherwise solid features of the rock. Near the base of the cliff a few boulders stood, and on the higher areas right next to the cliff a few trees managed to grow.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Snag and Forest

June 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary snag stands among forest trees in the Yosemite backcountry

A group of us, a band of photographers, spent a week in a Yosemite backcountry area back in the summer of 2014. With the plan of spending a week doing extensive photography of one or two areas, our equipment was brought in by pack train — we just had to walk in carrying our photographic equipment. We settled in for a few days at an isolated lake, and then we moved to a more populated area for the final few days of our visit.

The first location was a lovely little lake, set in a broad depression on a ridge above a very large valley. This spot provided us all sorts of photographic subjects — intimate landscapes, big views across the canyon to high peaks, and the forests and meadows and rocks spread around the lake itself. On this morning I had climbed up slanting granite slabs to reach a higher area, and here I found this solitary snag standing among living trees, and backed by forest running on up into the higher peaks.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Bridal Veil, Ice and Mist

March 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Bridal Veil fall with winter ice and mist

Many photographic subjects in Yosemite Valley are quite dependent on time of day, season, weather conditions, and other variables, some of which are completely beyond the photographer’s control. You simply must, first of all, be there, and then you must try to predict (or know) when the odds are better, be attentive to special conditions, and sometimes be ready to act quickly.

This is not exactly the rarest of conditions, but several pieces had to occur together to produce this scene. First, it had to be winter and it had to be cold — and the latter is less a certainty in California during the past few years. Second, despite the cold, it had to be warm enough somewhere up above to melt sufficient snow to get Bridal Veil Creek flowing at a pretty high rate for this time of year. Third, the light had to come over the lip of the canyon at the top of the wall to illuminate the rising mist but not the fall itself. Finally, if you look closely, you might notice three (somewhat blurry) ravens flying between the trees.

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

Winter Oak, Cliff

March 26, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A dormant winter oak in back-light, against the backdrop of granite Yosemite cliff

Near the end of February I spent a few days in and around Yosemite Valley. I scheduled my visit to coincide with the opening reception of the 2017 Yosemite Renaissance exhibit at the Yosemite Visitor Center Museum Gallery. The annual show features work by artists focusing on Yosemite and the Sierra, including almost every medium imaginable — and one of my photographs was in the show this year.

Almost any visit to Yosemite Valley calls for photography, so I arranged my schedule to be there for three days. While I hiked a lot on some days, on this day I hopped in my vehicle and headed down the Valley to visit various areas including El Capitan Meadow with its beautiful winter-bare trees and the backdrop of huge cliffs. The face of Sentinel Rocks, almost always in shade at this time of year, rises behind this single back-lit dormant oak tree.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: tree

Juniper and Striped Sandstone

Snag and Forest

Bridal Veil, Ice and Mist

Winter Oak, Cliff

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.