Tag Archives: two

Meadow and Sunset Trees

Meadow and Sunset Trees
“Meadow and Sunset Trees” — Two trees standing in a subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow catch the last rays of the day’s sun.

Back on July first I wandered through parts of a nearly-deserted Tuolumne Meadows late in the day. Since the campground was still closed, I camped just outside the park. For that reason and due to summer restrictions on vehicle traffic, the meadow was nearly deserted by the end of the day. I photographed these two trees as the day’s last light hit them.

Chasing the last light of the day at sunset in Tuolumne Meadows is a bit of a challenge. Because the meadow is nearly wide open on an almost east/west axis. the low angle light can traverse most of its length late in the day. But that also means that the sunlight disappears suddenly if you are near the east end. If you want to photograph the colors of the last few minutes of warm light, you have to work quickly!


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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

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Paint Line

Paint Line
“Paint Line” — The boundary between two different approaches to painting one building, Lisbon.

I spotted this little architectural oddity somewhere near the St. George Castle in Lisbon, high up in the hills. This is a single wall – it is all the same building. I can only assume that the building is divided into two or more residences and that those who live there have very different ideas about paint! Both are pretty striking. Purple isn’t quite a typical building color, and the worn, layered, and textured quality of the right side is about as different as I can imagine.

Little scenes like this are among those that I’m always looking for when traveling — interesting shapes, architecture, color, texture, and items that reflect that particular place.

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

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Trees in Morning Light, Granite Dome

Trees in Morning Light, Granite Dome
“Trees in Morning Light, Granite Dome” — Trees grow on a bit of talus at the base of a Yosemite dome.

Scenes like this are a big part of what characterizes Yosemite, especially the park’s high country: trees growing on granite, domes, forests, and that “range of light” atmosphere. The features are so common that it is possible for a longtime visitor to almost take them for granted.

I have paused at this spot on virtually every visit to the Yosemite high country for decades. The dome rising to the left in the photograph was my original interest — it is a beautiful dome in an especially aesthetic location. But later on the trees became an equal attraction — easy to overlook among millions of other trees, but once you see them you don’t forget.

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

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Morning Light, Big Sur Coast

Morning Light, Big Sur Coast
“Morning Light, Big Sur Coast” — Morning light, haze, and surf along the Big Sur Coast.

After a period of travel (Portugal, Spain, Belgium, NYC this time) it is always great to get back to photographing the natural world here in California. This week I heard that a couple of friends were in the Carmel area, less than an hour-and-a-half away, so we decided to meet up for some morning photography along the Big Sur coast. There’s no cell service where we were going, so we agreed to some coordinates on Google maps and set an early arrival time. I showed up, but couldn’t find them, so I made some photographs while waiting…

…including this one of the surf, morning light, and thin fog. As I photographed I noticed a couple of figures moving out onto the headland at the far right. I don’t usually include people in my landscape photography, but I’m not against it either, so I changed the framing a bit to incorporate them. It was only later in the evening, at home and working on photographs at my computer, that I zoomed in on the figures and realized that they are Franka and Dave, the friends I was searching for! (We did eventually connect, by the way.)

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

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