Tag Archives: upper

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Slopes

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Aspen Slopes
Autumn aspen trees rise from a valley toward the Sierra Nevada crest.

Aspen Slopes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn aspen trees rise from a valley toward the Sierra Nevada crest.

This little valley running along the base of the eastern slopes of the Sierra was on my agenda for this trip. But due to trying to squeeze in visits to numerous locations I couldn’t get to all of them in the perfect, soft, early and late day light. I arrived at this spot in the late afternoon, when the sun was backlighting these trees.

The answer groves here are among the most extensive I know of. They are not fully continuous, but there are quite a few of them and they are draped across the slopes, rising high up to where they meet the conifer forest. While the daytime sunlight isn’t my favorite for aspen photography, here the backlight intensifies the colors of the leaves.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Yosemite Fall, Spring 2023

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Yosemite Fall, Spring 2023
Upper Yosemite Fall in full flow, Spring 2023.

Yosemite Fall, Spring 2023. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Upper Yosemite Fall in full flow, Spring 2023.Yosemite Fall, Spring 2023

Yes, it is one of “those” photographs — a full daylight, straight-on photograph of one of the most iconic sights in Yosemite Valley. (One of the top three perhaps? With Half Dome and El Capitan being the other two?) I think it is a decent photograph, in not exactly a unique one, and it does capture Upper Yosemite Fall in its peak flow. It was really roaring on this late-May afternoon as the snow melt intensified.

It is easy to become so used to this valley that we forget how astonishing its features actually are. I often tell a story that reminded me some years ago. I was standing at one of the very popular overlooks, a place I’ve visited many times, thinking, ” Well, no pictures today. It is pretty ordinary looking in this light!” At about that moment a car arrived, a small group got our and walked over, looked at this “ordinary” view, apparently for the first time… and began to weep.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Spring Flood, Upper Yosemite Fall

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Spring Flood, Upper Yosemite Fall
Upper Yosemite Fall near the peak of the 2023 spring snowmelt runoff.

Spring Flood, Upper Yosemite Fall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Upper Yosemite Fall near the peak of the 2023 spring snowmelt runoff.

After many years photographing this Valley and seeing photographs others have made there, I often look for subjects other than the iconic waterfalls, domes and peaks. It isn’t that I’m not interested — it is just that I’m not sure the world needs (yet) another straight-on photograph of “that thing” in the same, familiar light. So, despite the fact that the flow over the waterfalls was near historic levels during my late-May visit, I didn’t make many waterfall photographs. But I did make this one.

It was mid-afternoon and the light was mostly “plain vanilla.” But clouds were forming east of the Valley and moving west, producing some interesting shadows. Upper Yosemite Fall was in full sunlight when I set up my camera, thinking about how I might silhouette those trees against the flood of the waterfall. But soon those cloud shadows began to darken the granite faces, and for a brief moment a narrow shaft of light lit the waterfall, set against the darker cliffs.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Upper West Side

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Upper West Side
Steps leading to residences on the Upper West Side, Manhattan

Upper West Side. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Steps leading to residences on the Upper West Side, Manhattan

Recently I’ve been sharing a steady stream of landscape photographs, most of which came from trips to photograph fall color on the east and west coasts. We were in the East twice in recent months, and both times took us to somewhat more rural areas of New England — southern Vermont in August and New Hampshire (and a bit more Vermont) in October. But both times we include some time in New York City. That lengthy introduction is all by way of warning you that there’s some Manhattan urban and street photography coming up!

I start gently with this photograph, one that you might even think of as a sort of “urban landscape.” We often stay at a place on the Upper West Side, a bit west of the Natural History Museum, since it is outside of the busiest parts of Manhattan, provides good subway access, and is closer to some folks in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx. We walk a lot while we’re there, and I photographed these steps in the neighborhood on one of those walks. The line-up of the steps intrigues me, but I also like the unusual palette of colors.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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