Tag Archives: tuolumne

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Rocky Shores, Subalpine Lake

December 15, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early evening light slants across the rocky shoreline of a sub-alpine back-country lake, Yosemite National Park.

Late in the afternoon on this mid-September day, when the calendar says summer but the surroundings say autumn, we walked cross-country from the lake where we were camped up to the next higher lake in the drainage, following the stream through forest and then sub-alpine meadows to arrive at the outlet of the higher lake in the early evening light. This has been a somewhat unusual year in the Sierra, with late and heavier than normal snowfall, and cool temperatures that maintained the snowpack late into the season, and there were still patches of snow all the way down to the lake’s rocky shoreline. (For scale, if you look really close near the lower right “corner” of the large snow field, you might be able to make out a small spot that is one of my fellow photographers. Hi, Mike!)

I worked this little shoreline clump of rocks to death – I started here shortly after we arrived, and I continued to shoot in more or less this spot until the light faded to the point that we had to start our return hike in order to get back to camp before it was completely dark. This specific spot had a lot to offer, not all of which is visible in this photograph. Along the near shore at my feet there was a little bit of shoreline meadow with grasses, heather, and a few blooming plants and interrupted by these light-colored granite rocks and slabs set at odd angles. Beyond was the water of the lake, transparent and shallow enough that some underwater rocks were visible, and also reflecting the snow, talus fields, and ridges on the far side. I especially like the quality of light at this subtle interval between the “normal” daytime light and the very warm-colored light that comes a bit later. Here the light begins to soften a bit and the color warms slightly, but not so much that the colors are obvious.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Granite Ridge and Trees

December 9, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A backlit granite ridge above the Tuolumne River is topped by trees.

I think that this is probably going to be the final riff on the subject of this particular ridge, the subject of several photographs I have posted in recent weeks. As I probably wrote at least once before… I climbed up from our camp onto the top of a small dome-like granite whaleback that gave me an open view in almost all directions and a high point from which to look over a good section of the Tuolumne River as it passes through a section of the Yosemite back-country. I arrived at this spot in the very late afternoon and then stayed there for perhaps two hours as the light gradually shifted from that of afternoon to sunset and then twilight.

This photograph was made before the golden hour, though I think that a bit of added warmth is already beginning to appear in the color of the light. The sun was coming from above the distant ridge seen faintly through the haze above the valley of the Tuolumne, and it was periodically blocked by some high clouds. While the clouds can “blah-ify” the light pretty effectively, when they are not completely covering the sky they can cast interesting and temporary light across the landscape as they move past. For a moment the light came brightly through the clouds and back-lit these beautiful trees that were growing on the granite surface of this dome.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Glacial Erratics

December 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Glacial erratics rest on top of a low granite dome in the back-country of Yosemite National Park.

“Erratics” are boulders left behind in the wake of the passage of glaciers, and left behind when the glaciers disappeared. They are found all over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and some of the most striking examples are found in surprising places – like along the top of this granite dome-like ridge in the Yosemite back-country along the Tuolumne River. After spending decades in these mountains I sometimes take these rocks for granted (and for “granite…” ;-), but every so often it hits me just how strange and wonderful it is to find these large boulders sitting in unlikely places.

I made this photograph in the late afternoon as the lowering sun began to cast longer shadows and as earlier clouds began to dissipate above the distant ridges. The Tuolumne River begins it steep descent into the lowlands between my position and the distant ridge covered with granite and trees.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Water and Granite, Tuolumne River

November 30, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Swift water flows over granite along the bank of the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

In this section of the Tuolumne River – as in many other places throughout the Sierra Nevada – the river passes through a steep section and across granite slabs that span the full width of the river. As the water flows over the granite it forms constantly changing patterns of rock and whitewater that can only be predicted in general ways. The spot included in the photograph was right along the edge of the river, and you can see the transition between the diminished flow along the bottom edge and the faster and more abundant water in the main channel beyond.

Part of the fun of shooting this sort of subject – and shooting it is a pleasant way to spend an hour along the river – is in trying to find workable compositions in such a changeable subject. And making it even more “fun,” the shutter speed becomes an important decision as it determines just much the image is affected by motion blur and how much of the scene is stopped. Fortunately, digital cameras make this process just a bit more predictable and productive, since they allow the photographer to quickly see the result of composition and shutter speed choices and verify whether or not the educated guesses were correct, and to see just how the infinitely variable and unpredictable patterns of flowing water come together at the instant of exposure.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: tuolumne

Rocky Shores, Subalpine Lake

Granite Ridge and Trees

Glacial Erratics

Water and Granite, Tuolumne River

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