Tag Archives: usa

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

Rim Fire Burn Zone, Morning

January 10, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An area near “Rim of the World” recently burned by the Rim Fire

Late this past summer one of the worst wildfires in the Sierra burned extensive areas near and within the northwest “corner” of Yosemite National Park. The “Rim Fire,” as it has come to be known (since it started near the “Rim of the World” overlook) came at a time of very bad conditions – in hot and dry weather, late in the season, and at the end of a second drought year in California. The first spread very quickly, and it took tremendous efforts to contain it – and full suppression took many, many weeks.

Since the fire burned in areas that I know very well from decades of travel through this part of the Sierra, I was anxious to see the extent of the damage. At first I thought I might get a chance in early September, when I traveled back and forth to the eastern Sierra to photograph fall colors. However, weather interfered – snow closed Tioga Pass Road and I ended up taking different routes across the range. Finally, at the very end of October, on a drive to Yosemite Valley I passed this way early in the morning. Overall, from what little I could observe, several things seem clear: the fire burned a very large area, some sections were very badly damaged and it will be a long time before trees grow there again, other sections were only lightly burned and a few were skipped over. This view, from the “Rim of the World” overlook, rises from the close charred hills above the Tuolumne River Canyon, across more distant ridges, and culminates at far peaks with a light dusting of early season snow. All of the conditions I described above are visible here – serious destruction in the foreground, a bit further in there are some trees that were burned by not killed, and far beyond there is forest that appears to have not been burned.

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: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes, Marsh, Dawn

January 7, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Flocks of sandhill cranes fly through dawn haze above San Joaquin Valley marshland

This is another New Year’s Day photograph – and probably won’t be the last one. The typical process when I shoot here is to start at a parking area near the entrance before the sun comes up, either meeting friends there or else simply pausing to get my gear ready and put on warm clothes. Without fail, I also pause for a few minutes to take in the extraordinary sound of the many thousands of migratory birds, usually coming from unseen places off in the mist or fog, and the sound always makes me smile. I may make a few initial photographs in the dim predawn light, and then I usually move off to start looking for subjects.

On this morning I began my “move” before the sun came up, but moments later I looked over my shoulder to see the first light of the rising sun, and I quickly found this location with a small gap in the tules, a bare tree, and some reflecting water, and I lined them up with the rising sun. In this foggy valley, when the fog is not too thick, there is a brief interval of perhaps a minute or two when the globe of the sun rises behind the fog, which mutes the light and allows me to shoot straight into the sun. Also right about dawn, flights of sandhill cranes lift off and fly in lines above the landscape – and on this morning the two ephemeral events happened simultaneously.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Levee Road and Trees

January 6, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A pond reflects trees in foggy morning light along a twisting San Joaquin Valley levee road

This photograph is from my New Year’s Day visit to the San Joaquin Valley, where I went to greet the dawn in the company of thousands of migratory birds and a couple of good friends. After arriving home from the east coast the previous night at about 11:00 and getting to bed after midnight, I arose before 4:00 AM and headed off to the valley. Despite the sleep deprivation, it helped a bit to remind myself that it was already 7:00 AM back in New York, where I had spent the previous week – but only a bit. I arrived before dawn to meet my friends Dave and Charlotte, and we quickly went to work photographing the birds and the early and misty environment of this marshland area.

Shortly after the sun rose I headed out along this road that follows the contours of the levees separating the various ponds. Mostly they travel in relatively straight lines, but here the track takes a winding course among stands of cottonwood trees. When I stopped to look around a bit I glanced back and saw this pattern, with the early light on the vegetation and the slight fog causing colors and contrast to fade into the distance.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Beach and Rocks, Pacific Ocean

January 4, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The incoming swell stretches toward that distant horizon beyond a few rocks on an Oregon beach

As we drove south along the Oregon coast in August we passed through Port Oxford. Just below this town the highway briefly curved landward before heading south again, traveling along the edge of a long and wide beach featuring impressive sea stacks and long strings of waves coming in off of the Pacific. I found a spot with a few dark, back-lit rocks to break up the uniformity of the horizontal lines of beach, surf, horizon, and sky, and shot straight toward the sun and its brilliant reflections on the surface of the ocean.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: usa

Rim Fire Burn Zone, Morning

Sandhill Cranes, Marsh, Dawn

Levee Road and Trees

Beach and Rocks, Pacific Ocean

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