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Looks Like a Great Day for Winter Photography in The Valley

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From time to time I like to take a look at the Yosemite webcam showing the view of Ahwahnee Meadow and Half Dome to see what the conditions are like. Go ahead, take a look… I’ll wait…

As I post this afternoon it looks like fine photography conditions in the Valley today! The new snow is still on many of the trees, but the snow is not so deep as to make it too difficult to get around.

But I’m not there! (My son and I need to finally put up the Christmas lights in front of the house this afternoon.)

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

Oak Branches and Rain, Yosemite Valley

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Oak Branches and Rain, Yosemite Valley

Oak Branches and Rain, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful fall foliage on branches of a Yosemite Valley oak tree with walls of the valley seen faintly though rain.

This tree is an often photographed landmark in the meadow just to the north of Curry Village and along the roadway to the campgrounds in upper Yosemite Valley. I stopped here initially to photograph the tree with Yosemite Falls very faintly visible through the rain and mist beyond. Finishing that, I decided to try a few detail photograph of the tree itself. Here the upper edge of the Valley walls are just barely visible through the light rain.

I think this will be the last – at least for awhile – in the long series of photographs from my early November rainy weekend in Yosemite Valley earlier this year.

keywords: oak, tree, meadow, leaf, leaves, branch, cliff, wall, mountain, face, fog, cloud, rain, mist, yellow, gold, fall, autumn, season, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, foliage, stock

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

Autumn Oak Grove, El Capitan Meadow

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Autumn Oak Grove, El Capitan Meadow

Autumn Oak Grove, El Capitan Meadow. Yosemite Valley, California. November 2. 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn colors come to the oak groves in El Capitan Meadow with Cathedral Rocks in the distance – Yosemite Valley, California.

I think I hit this meadow at pretty much the peak of the fall color this year when I visited during the first week of November. The light rain that was falling also helped saturate the colors. El Capitan Meadow is near the base of El Capitan and is full of beautiful, large oak trees and meadow grasses and plants. Beyond the edge of the meadow the lower face of Cathedral Rocks (on the south side of the Valley, opposite El Capitan) is visible.

keywords: autumn, fall, season, el capitan, meadow, grass, leaves, oak, tree, grove, forest, yellow, brown, gold, cloud, rain, cathedral, rocks, cliff, face, mountain, mist, fog, trunk, branch, silhouette, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, stock

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

Burnt Forest – Yosemite Valley

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Burnt Forest - Yosemite Valley

Burnt Forest – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Burnt trees in a managed fire area of Yosemite Valley.

Now that I understand that fire is a natural and important part of the life cycle of forests, I no longer find burned areas to be ugly – in fact I think that they can be quite compelling scenes. The start quality of charred trees and soil is interesting, and soon the new growth in the burned areas comes in and wildflowers can be abundant. The NPS now has a policy in Yosemite of allowing naturally occurring fires to burn (as long as they don’t threaten structures) and of purposefully starting “managed fires” in places like the Valley.

During my raining early -November weekend in The Valley I stopped in this recently burned forest, initially to photograph new growth of ferns on the forest floor against the dark colors of the trees. After I worked that idea I saw these lower branches on forest trees that had been burned and decided to photograph them as well.

keywords: fire, burn, forest, managed, controlled, trunk, tree, branches, char, brown, blackened, yosemite, valley, national park, nature, california, usa, fall, autumn, season, sierra, nevada, stock