Tag Archives: trees

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

Two Domes, Evening

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Two Domes, Evening
Evening light on granite domes, meadows, and forest, Yosemite National Park

Two Domes, Evening. Yosemite National Park, California. July 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on granite domes, meadows, and forest, Yosemite National Park

As always when staying in and around Tuolumne Meadows — though this time I had to drive in from a more distant campground — I was out in the meadows as evening approached. The campground was still closed due to late-melting winter snows, so there were even fewer than usual people out enjoying the late-day light and benign clouds floating overhead.

As I walked through the meadow I enjoyed the constantly changing landscape and patterns of clouds and sunlight moved across the forest, meadow, and mountains. From moment to moment the light changed significantly enough to almost create new landscapes. At the moment of this photograph the main subject was actually darkened a bit by the shadow of a passing cloud — perhaps giving it a more ominous appearance — but the light was bright on the smaller, more distant dome and on the meadow and forest at the base of the dome.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Two Trees and Granite

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Two Trees and Granite
Two old trees grow at the base of a granite dome

Two Trees and Granite. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two old trees grow at the base of a granite dome

This is a slightly different treatment of the same subject I posted a few days ago. These trees grow on the broken talus at the base of this large expanse of glaciated granite. I’m astonished that they have managed to become so massive, given the rather difficult terrain upon which they grow.

These trees are familiar friends at this point. I’ve photographed them for quite a few years, usually with a bit of a wider perspective that includes more of their surroundings, from the dome itself to some large foreground trees that are out of the frame in this photograph. This time I decided to eliminate much of that surrounding material and let the trees appear more isolated from the competing subjects.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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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

Two Trees, Granite, and Forest

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Two Trees, Granite, and Forest
Two trees stand at the base of a granite dome with forest ascending further hills

Two Trees, Granite, and Forest. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two trees stand at the base of a granite dome with forest ascending further hills

When I first photographed this pair of trees some time ago, I thought I had discovered something special. From my perspective that was true — my personal discovery was special. But it wasn’t too long afterwards that I “discovered” a beautiful print of these same trees by photographer and friend Charles Cramer, at which point I recognized that perhaps my photograph was just a bit less unique than I imagined! Yet, something about these trees and their surroundings sticks in my mind, and from time to time I stop and photograph them again.

That was the case on this late-July morning, when I passed by on my way to some other place. I noticed that the morning light seemed just about perfect, and that the slight haze produced a bit of atmospheric recession to add depth to the subject. So, once again, I stopped and made a few photographs. In this one I decided to include just a bit of the foreground trees, one on either side, so that I could also include a bit more of the forest zigzagging up the side of the more distant slopes in the morning light.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Shoreline Forest With Snags

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Shoreline Forest With Snags
Several skeletal dead trees stand among the trees of a living forest, Yosemite National Park

Shoreline Forest With Snags. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Several skeletal dead trees stand among the trees of a living forest, Yosemite National Park

This is another of my early morning photographs in the greater Tioga Pass & Tuolumne Meadows area. When photographing here I may head out on foot, especially if I’m camped in the Tuolumne Meadows campground. On the other hand, many interesting subjects are too far to walk and/or sometimes the campground is full and I end up camping outside the park. the latter was the case on this trip — I was camped a couple of miles east of the park. On this morning I got up before dawn and headed over Tioga Pass and down toward Tuolumne Meadows.

I did not have a specific plan in mind, and I was operating in an essentially opportunistic mode, looking for whatever subjects might turn up. I arrived at this lake before the first light struck the trees, and the soft early light tended to illuminate the shadows, opening up details that are very hard to see in typical daytime light. I had few minutes to work before the sun arrived and lit up the trees, so I used a long lens and looked for sections of the forest that provided interesting textures and forms. Here the ranks of trees build up the slope, and a few dead snags are more visible against the relatively uniform backdrop of living trees.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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