Tag Archives: wilderness

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

Granite Cliff and Ledge – Upper Cathedral Lake

October 19, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fractured cliff face and bench with colorful lichens and trees near Upper Cathedral Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

During the last week of September I managed to squeeze in a very shot pack trip to Upper Cathedral Lakes, just out of Tuolumne Meadows in the Yosemite National Park high country, where I met five outstanding Yosemite photographers who were there for a week of shooting. Although I was only at the lake for perhaps 24 hours, I tried to make the best of it and I shot early and late all around the upper lake.

On the first evening I decided to explore some rocky gullies ascending above the lake on the side opposite from Cathedral Peak. The first gully I followed was very narrow and quite deep – I had to climb a good distance to finally find a spot where I could climb out of it onto the glacier-smoother dome-like formations above the lake. This photograph shows a tremendously fractured section of the wall of this gully, with the bases of a few trees included for scale.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove Near Conway Summit

October 10, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Newly fallen leaves litter the ground among softly lit trunks of aspen trees in a grove near Conway Summit in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.

During my one hour (!) of fall aspen photography in the eastern Sierra on Sunday, I spent most of the time in one small grove of trees up the road to Virginia Lake from highway 395 at Conway Summit just north of Lee Vining. If you leave 395 and head up the road to Virginia Lakes, this is the first grove you encounter on your left – not far up the road and at a point where a small dirt road heads off from the main paved road.

I’ve photographed this grove before, but frequently I’ve arrived a bit after the peak. If anything, on this visit I was possibly a few days early. There were still a good number of green leaves in the grove, and across the road another large grove was completely green. However, here there were some great colors ranging from green to red and orange and yellow. I wandered up the hill through the grove and came to this spot where the ground was relatively clear but partially littered with fallen leaves, and a clear view of the many interesting shapes of the tree trunks was available.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Granite Benches above Blue Lake

September 14, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening sunlight strikes the trees scattered along the granite benches above Blue Lake, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California.

Although the scene here looks quite peaceful and quiet, the truth is that it was freezing cold and a very strong wind was blowing. A very unusual early August weather system moved across the Sierra on this night and there was even a threat (unrealized) of some snow flurries. The broken clouds passing quickly overhead created fast-moving shadows that tracked across the terrain, producing the pattern of shadow and light on this steep area of granite benches and trees above Blue Lake.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lower Slopes of Picture Peak, Hungry Packer Lake

August 20, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The snow fields, cliffs, and talus fields of Picture Peak tower above the upper end of Hungry Packer Lake, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California.

Hungry Packer Lake is a short walk up the valley from Topsy Turvy Lake, where we camped during our recent visit to upper Sabrina Basin in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Hungry Packer is a classic, high alpine Sierra Lake with glacier polished rocks, meadows, and a some trees at the bench where the outlet stream leaves the lake and rugged rocks and talus slopes around the upper portion of the lake – with the towering mass of Picture Peak overhead. It is “my Sierra” – the sort of place that first comes to mind for me when I think of this mountain range.

We only visited for a short time, as we were on a circuit hike to visit about four of these high lakes, and the light was a bit tough during this midday period. Consequently I decided to go for a tighter shot of the lake surface and the tremendous talus slope, rock faces, and snowfields at the upper end of the lake – all with a plan to render the photo in black and white.

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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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.