Tag Archives: valley

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

Forest, Granite, And Spring Snow

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Forest, Granite, And Spring Snow
Gentle spring snow flurries on Yosemite Valley meadows and forest

Forest, Granite, And Spring Snow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Gentle spring snow flurries on Yosemite Valley meadows and forest

Now that we are well into spring and it feels more like summer here in California, it is fun to take a final look back at winter in the photographic rear-view mirror. It is hard to believe that it was only weeks ago that I was photographing in falling snow in the Valley! When I returned there one week after making this photograph, virtually all traces of the snow had melted and it felt more like late spring or summer.

The storm that came through the Valley during this visit wasn’t a big one. Typical of most “shoulder season” storms in the Sierra, it only dropped an inch or two of snow, and it passed quickly. But for a moment all of the sensory elements of winter made one final stand — the blue-gray color of the scene, the distant cliffs disappearing into falling snow and clouds, and the colors muted to an almost monochrome quality. What the photograph cannot capture, but may possibly suggest, are things like the cool dampness and the changes to sound on these days — a quiet stillness where the sound-space seems larger somehow.

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

Black Oaks and Ghost Trees

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Black Oaks and Ghost Trees
A pair of skeletal dead “ghost trees” behind a row of black oak trunks

Black Oaks and Ghost Trees. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pair of skeletal dead “ghost trees” behind a row of black oak trunks

This is a subject familiar to virtually anyone who has spent much time in Yosemite Valley, and especially to photographers who have worked there. Generally, the black oaks of the Valley are one of its most characteristic features, tied to its relatively low elevation in the Sierra Nevada. Oaks are lowland trees, but they are still abundant at the elevation of the Valley. You’ll find them in warmer, open areas, often near meadows.

While they are not the most colorful trees, in the right light they can be fascinating. Early in the season the backlit leaves can be intensely colorful, and the same effect is possible in autumn light. Their curving, skeletal trunks can be quite beautiful in snow, where they contact with the near-perfect verticals of conifers. This group of trees grows unusually close together. As a result they have strongly vertical character, likely created as they compete with one another for access to sunlight. I photographed these in early spring, when brown autumn leaves remained on the branches and before the new spring growth appeared.

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

Forest Scene

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Forest Scene
The trunks of tall conifers trees in afternoon light

Forest Scene. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The trunks of tall conifers trees in afternoon light

I had initially stopped near these trees to photograph an entirely different subject in the opposite direction, behind my position as I made this photograph. I spent a good deal of time on that other subject, but in the end it didn’t (at least not as of this date) end up seeming to “work” quite the way I envisioned. As I finished I saw this row of strong, side-lit tree trunks and thought it might make a photograph. Ironically, I almost didn’t both — at first the light wasn’t remarkable, and I knew that I had photographed similar subjects in the past with success. I wasn’t sure that this version was going to work.

But, this being a cloudy day in the Valley, the variable light began to play on the trees, alternately lighting them and putting them in shade. At the same time, the variability extended to the complex pattern of more distant forest. I’m always intrigued by the challenge of making a workable composition out of very complex and “busy” subjects, and here the momentary light makes all the difference. (And, yes, I do seem to be in a bit of a “black and white mood” with some recent photographs. Maybe this is to balance out some of the other highly colorful images.)

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

Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon

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Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon
The morning sun breaks through clearing clouds above Merced Canyon

Clearing Clouds, Merced River Canyon. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The morning sun breaks through clearing clouds above Merced Canyon

If I had to choose my favorite conditions of atmosphere and light, something like this morning would be on my short list. The light was a surprise that emerged after I had almost written off the potential as being bland and gray. Since the clouds were in motion, the light was constantly changing — at moments it actually was not that interesting, but suddenly the clouds would shift and light would emerge, frequently moving across the scene and providing more than one opportunity. There were multiple levels and types of clouds. A thick overcast lay high above, though it was occasionally broken. Other clouds occasionally formed directly on the peaks, and others drifted below me, often low enough to count as fog. This show actually continued for several hours.

The location here is a fairly iconic spot that many who have visited Yosemite will immediately recognize. (However, as I discovered as visitors new to the park stopped and asked questions, to many this is a wholly unfamiliar view, which probably makes in even more spectacular to them.) If you look closely you will likely recognize the famous feature that provides a point of focus. The vantage point gives a view looking up the canyon of the Merced River and into the lower end of Yosemite Valley. This section has more of the v-shape of a river gorge, but the classic glacial u-shape begins under the brightest section of the lower clouds and then tracks to the left. Those light beams are real, and as I photographed they were traversing the scene from right to left.

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.