Tag Archives: wilderness

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

The Ridges Beyond

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The Ridges Beyond
A series of Eastern Sierra ridges leads to the east beyond a backcountry lake in morning light.

The Ridges Beyond. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A series of Eastern Sierra ridges leads to the east beyond a backcountry lake in morning light.

Because variations on this particular scene comprise a significant portion of the photographs I made during our August Sierra backcountry sojourn I have been trying to release them somewhat gradually. However, even though I shared a quite different version of the view from this camera position just a few days ago, here’s another. This one is, obviously, a near-panorama rendition that takes in the far edge of “our” little lake, its outlet, surrounding ridges, the more distant scene, and some beautiful morning clouds. The whole scene is softened by a bit of backlit morning haze.

Sometimes I’m immediately certain of what a photograph will look like as I make the exposure. But other times I’m less sure and I reserve judgment, perhaps making multiple exposures that will work for any of several possible directions I might take with the subject. That was the case with this scene — multiple “takes” were required not only for that reason but also to ensure that I’d be able to work with some rather extreme light contrasts between the shadowed foreground and the very bright clouds and sky.

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

Lake, Morning Haze

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Lake, Morning Haze
Morning haze glows in a valley beyond the outlet stream of a Sierra Nevada subalpine lake.

Lake, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning haze glows in a valley beyond the outlet stream of a Sierra Nevada subalpine lake.

As a photographer whose roots are in black and white photography — that’s how I started decades ago — the thought of “going monochrome” with photographs is always there, even though the great majority of what I do these days ends up in color. But every so often a photograph just seems like it should be black and white. The reasons are not always completely clear, but often they are images with a strong formal structure and photographs in which the contribution of color might not be the most important thing. I went back and forth on this one quite a bit, eventually putting the color and monochrome renditions side by side on the screen… at which point the choice seemed clear.

This lovely Sierra Nevada lake has an ideally situated outlet stream for morning photography. At the outlet the broad basin holding the lake pinches off between angled canyon walls. Beyond the valley drops toward the rising sun, and the mountains beyond are seen though the luminous morning light. Other photographs I made of this subject included only a bit of the lake and used the wide landscape format. But it seemed to me that including this bit of the near shoreline strengthens the sense that the viewer is looking out and across the water into that light.

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

Solitary Tree, Morning

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Solitary Tree, Morning
A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

Solitary Tree, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A solitary tree stands in morning light against a background of rugged, rocky Sierra slopes.

One of my favorite places to wander on our recent Sierra backcountry visit — with a group of photographer friends back in August — was an area of creeks and boulder-strewn meadows and small trees that led from near our camp toward the alpine country below barren ridges. Once the nearby creek’s flow diminished following some heavy rainfall, I spent a couple of mornings wandering through this terrain and photographing.

I timed my visits so that the sun would rise after I had gotten a little ways into this area, at about the time that the first sun would strike the trees. On this morning I paused in a meadow that was open to the east, and as the first sun arrived it produced lovely backlight on this tree, set against high and rugged country running up toward a much higher ridge.

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: Sierra Nevada

Timberline Meadow

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Timberline Meadow
A timberline meadow with small trees is bounded by a granite bench.

Timberline Meadow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A timberline meadow with small trees is bounded by a granite bench.

I recall the time, quite a few years ago, when I first understood that the places in the natural world (and the human world, for that matter) that we identify with are not necessarily the most iconic, biggest, most classically impressive places. I was at the end of a moderately short backpacking loop out of Tuolumne meadows, within perhaps little more than an hour of the trailhead. It was a day of potential rain, and that potentiality became reality at this point. I stopped, put on rain gear and covered my pack, stepped off the trail, sat down, and leaned against a rock to watch the rain approach. Decades later I still remember that rock and consider it a thing worth visiting — although I’m sure that no one else would even notice it.

I passed by the spot in this photograph a couple of times during our August backcountry photography visit to the Eastern Sierra. There are, I’m certain, thousands of similar little meadows throughout the Sierra — most from a stream meandering through, green with meadow grasses, bounded by granite and small trees. But somehow this particular spot caught my attention and, I think, may have become one of “those places.”

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.