Tag Archives: waterfall

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

Meadow, Trees, and Cascade

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Meadow, Trees, and Cascade
The view across a Yosemite Valley meadow toward a spring cascade below Glacier Point.

Meadow, Trees, and Cascade. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The view across a Yosemite Valley meadow toward a spring cascade below Glacier Point.

To some extent, this is arguably a “record shot” that documents this year’s extraordinary spring runoff in Yosemite Valley. This winter set records for total snowfall (and snow water content) thought the Sierra, and once spring warmth arrived it began to melt, sending torrents of water downstream. When I visited the Valley in late May, there was water everywhere: meadows had become lakes, trails were flooded, and water was cascading down cliff faces in locations that are usually dry.

This view looks across the Valley to a particularly interesting section of its walls. The main mass of rock is just to the west of the Glacier Point Apron, in an area of fractured rock that drains the watershed above. Typically you might see a small trickle of water here, but at this point there was a full-on stream winding back and forth down this face toward the Valley.

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

Cascade

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Cascade
Water falls across a fractured rock face after August rain, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Cascade. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Water falls across a fractured rock face after August rain, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

We were here in August, a time when a cascade or waterfall like this one in the Sierra Nevada high country would typically be more of a trickle than a torrent. But a torrential rain storm had raised the creek levels just before we arrived, and the flow was quite impressive. Fortunately, by the time we arrived, the silt that had turned the water a muddy brown had almost dissipated.

We were not actually aware of this fall when we headed this direction in the late afternoon. Our actual goal was the timberline country further up the route. But shortly after we turned and began following the creek that led that direction we came to the cascade, which was positioned right next to our route. Packs immediately came off, cameras came out, tripods were set up, and we were pleasantly distracted by the photographic potential of this feature.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

After the Deluge

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After the Deluge
A High Sierra waterfall, brought back to life by torrential rains surges over rocky ledges.

After the Deluge. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A High Sierra waterfall, brought back to life by torrential rains surges over rocky ledges.

I love watching for, observing, and experiencing the typical seasonal transitions. For example, right about now I have my eyes on the first signs of the approach of autumn. In spring I watch water levels in creeks and streams. In winter I track the appearance of birds. However, I’m also fascinated when conditions are abnormal, when something unusual happens that conflicts with our seasonal expectations. The cascade in this photograph, and the “deluge” the caused it, fit into that latter category.

This has been a very dry period in California. Winter precipitation has been far below normal levels, and warmer temperatures have decreased the amount of water released from the snowpack during the warm months. Consequently, the high country has been stressed. Yet… on the first couple of days of our August high country visit we experienced the heaviest and most prolonged heavy summer rain that I have ever experienced in the backcountry. It was heavy enough that we really could not leave our tents for hours, and when we emerged the landscape was drenched and a nearby creek was coming out of its banks. Later on this trip we followed a branch of the stream up into the alpine zone, and along that route we passed this surprisingly powerful waterfall.

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 | Twitter | 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: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Waterfall and Pond

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Waterfall and Pond
A waterfall empties into a small pool, Portland Japanese Garden.

Waterfall and Pond. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A waterfall empties into a small pool, Portland Japanese Garden.

This is a portrait-orientation photograph of the same subject I recently posted in landscape orientation — a beautiful and quite peaceful scene from the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

With some subjects I go ahead and photograph both waits — vertical and horizontal — for several reasons. My first impressions of a subject while I’m on the scene don’t always turn out to be the rest ones, and sometimes I discover later on that a compositional option I had dismissed actually works well. So I recognize that it is possible that a scene that seems to work in landscape mode may turn out to work in portrait mode. On top of that, and thinking in practical terms, sometimes a particular usage of a photograph demands one or the other orientation, and I’d like to be able to offer both options. In this case, the vertical orientation may emphasize the verticality of the waterfall a bit more than the alternative view.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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