Tag Archives: water

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

Ice, Water, and Reflected Clouds

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Ice, Water, and Reflected Clouds
Ice, Water, and Reflected Clouds

Ice, Water, and Reflected Clouds. Yosemite National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of clouds reflected in the surface of shoreline water on a frozen alpine lake, Yosemite National Park.

Once I discovered the reflections of evening clouds in this narrow band of water between the ice and the shoreline of this frozen lake, I managed to make several exposures as the clouds continuously moved past. (I earlier posted a color photograph taken at about the same time.) As I went through the group of images I wanted to try one in a black and white rendition and this one seemed like the of the bunch for that interpretation.

Since the “abstractness” of this scene is what drew me to it, I decided to run with that idea in this version. Although it may not be apparent, this interpretation is the result of more post-processing work than was the case with the similar color photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

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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.

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

Shoreline Reflections, Trees and Rocks

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Shoreline Reflections, Trees and Rocks
Black and white photograph of silhouetted trees and boulders and their reflections lining a flooded section of the shoreline of Tenaya Lake.

Shoreline Reflections, Trees and Rocks. Yosemite National Park, California. June 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of silhouetted trees and boulders and their reflections lining a flooded section of the shoreline of Tenaya Lake.

During peak snow melt many Sierra Nevada lakes overflow and flood surrounding meadows and forest. Although the water level was lower at the end of June when I made this photograph than it had been three weeks earlier during my first visit of the year, many areas in the margins of the lake were flooded. (This, of course, makes the mosquito population very happy – and human visitors less so!) The early morning sun back-lit these closely spaced trees and the rocks ringing this quiet flooded area along the shoreline.

I have visited this lake for many years. I’ve long been intrigued by this particular spot, where flat granite slabs line the shoreline, allowing the lake to expand and contract across shallows as the season progresses. Later in the season this spot can be dry, but early season in this wetter-than-usual year the water flooded this small pool and what might otherwise be shoreline trees were on a rocky peninsula. Those trees have been a subject for other photographers— being aware of this I wanted to avoid a photograph that imitated their beautiful work. I arrived in the early morning, when the air was still and cool and the water smooth. I walked about a bit and just looked, then came to this spot, where the complex patterns of the trees and their reflections in the water fill the frame, creating for me a sense of stillness and calm and quiet.

This photograph was a prize winner in the Yosemite Renaissance 2013 show in Yosemite Valley. Prints are available. Email me and/or see the Sales link at the top of this page.

This photograph is the subject of one of my “Photograph Exposed” posts, in which I share more of the story behind the image.

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

Cascade, Afternoon Light

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Cascade, Afternoon Light
Cascade, Afternoon Light

Cascade, Afternoon Light. Yosemite National Park, California. June 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A back-country creek cascades across granite in afternoon light reflected from nearby rock faces, Yosemite National Park, California.

In places where a fast-moving stream drops rapidly down a glaciated granite slope (such places are found in various locations in the Yosemite high country) and the late afternoon sunlight reflects on the far side of the stream, the water can pick up the golden color of the reflected light. In this photograph I found a standing wave in the middle of turbulent section of water, and I positioned myself so that the reflected light was directly opposite my location.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)


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

Sky and Ice

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Sky and Ice
Sky and Ice

Sky and Ice. Yosemite National Park, California. June 29, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoreline water reflects evening sky and clouds along the edge of melting winter ice patterns on an alpine lake in Yosemite National Park, California.

This morning I am back from several days of photographing on either side of the Sierra Nevada crest in the Mono Lake, Tioga Pass, and Tuolumne Meadows area. It is a beautiful early season in the Sierra – the wet and long-lasting winter produced a good snow pack (a substantial portion of which is still there if you go high enough) and now there is water everywhere.

After a mid-afternoon dinner, we headed up a short but steep and muddy trail through newly-emerging plants to reach a broad, snow-covered saddle. From this vantage point we were surprised to see that the valley below was still snow-covered, and that this large lake was almost fully covered by ice, with alternating patterns of thicker ice and melt-water pools. After descending to the lake, I climbed partway up the slope at one end to get a better angle on the ice and the reflected blue light from the sky. This photograph shows evening sky and clouds reflecting in the bit of open water close the shoreline.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)