Tag Archives: valley

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

Tall Trees

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Tall Trees
A stand of tall trees in Yosemite Valley.

Tall Trees. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A stand of tall trees in Yosemite Valley.

This is not what a Sierra Nevada forest looks like during most of the year. It is easy to miss that fact, since it may be the most appealing time and when we are most likely to visit, when there is still moisture and the undergrowth is thick and green. But the reality is that the forest is dormant or nearly so for many months, and that between the spring thaw and autumn much of the Sierra is quite dry… and becoming drier every year recently.

This little bit of Yosemite Valley forest has long fascinated me, which might see odd given that there are other more compelling views nearby. The location is near a lovely meadow full of flowers and grasses in the spring, and oak trees all year long. From that meadow there are impressive views of towers and cliff faces, including nearby El Capitan.

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: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Oak, Cliff Face

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Spring Oak, Cliff Face
A spring black oak silhouetted against El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.

Spring Oak, Cliff Face. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring black oak silhouetted against El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.

Last weekend we were in Oakhurst, along the southern entrance to Yosemite, for the opening of a show featuring Patty’s flower photography. We were close to the park for days, but on most of them we were occupied with activities related to the show — delivering prints, setting up the exhibit, meeting with others involved in the show, attending the opening. Consequently, while the trip was related to photography… it didn’t offer many opportunities to make photographs. But on the final day of our visit we made a quick loop through portions of the park.

As part of this lightening-speed visit we made among the fastest-on-record visits to Yosemite Valley. Since our main goal was a visit to the high country along Tioga Pass Road, we made a single driving loop through the Valley, likely taking no more than an hour. We paused to photograph in just two locations, including near the base of El Capitan where we photographed the black oak trees with their new spring 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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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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Mountains and Valley

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Desert Mountains and Valley
Badlands, mountains, and a valley, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains and Valley. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Badlands, mountains, and a valley, Death Valley National Park.

As I continue (still!) working my way though this year’s Death Valley photographs, a familiar process is at work. I first go to images that jump out at me or which I specifically recall making. In some ways, this is the easiest part of the process. Then I dig into the archive more carefully, considering photographs that seem less obvious, but which “work” once I spend time with them. At about this point I imagine that I have finished, but the thought that I’ve missed something gnaws at me, and inevitably I head back into the files again and gradually find subtler images that I like.

This is one of those later-stage photographs. On this morning I made several exposures from this spot, and two others initially jumped out at me as “the shots” from this place. When I looked at this one, there were things I liked about it, but I had other photographs that I wanted to deal with first. When I finally came back to it I think I started to realize what I must have instinctively found interesting about this scene when I pushed the shutter button. It is a large landscape, looking across bare foreground hill into a large valley, and toward desert mountains distant enough to introduce the effects of atmospheric haze.

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 | 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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Winding Canyon #2

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Winding Canyon #2
Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Winding Canyon #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light in a winding desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

We arrived at this spot in a badlands canyon after the morning golden hour but a bit earlier than I usually get there. The route to this view passes by so much interesting stuff that I inevitably get sidetracked, and I tend to reach this spot after the best light. But on this morning, having photographed here not too long ago, I resisted some of those early temptations. The light was still appealing and the desert haze added a nice quality to the atmosphere.

A few weeks ago I shared another photograph of this scene — that one was presented in horizontal landscape orientation. Why share another when that is the biggest difference? Lots of reasons! Sometimes one or the other format is obviously more successful, but in this case they are different but equally valid ways of seeing this landscape. I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is one “right” way to see a landscape.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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