Tag Archives: wilderness

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Into the Kaweahs

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Into the Kaweahs
The High Sierra Trail on the approach to Kaweah Gap, Sequoia National Park.

Into the Kaweahs. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The High Sierra Trail on the approach to Kaweah Gap, Sequoia National Park.

There are some backcountry adventures in my future this summer. One involves setting up a Sierra backcountry basecamp for some serious wilderness photography. Another is a shorter trip with a group of friends that I’ve joined for backpack trips for decades — since before 1990. One way I get myself in the right frame of mind for these trips is by revisiting earlier adventures. Recently I’ve been looking over a collection of photographs from a major trip that I did with the latter group a decade-and-a-half ago. This photograph comes from that trek.

Back then we managed a few quite long trips — up to a couple of weeks. This trip lasted about a week and a half as we backpacked the High Sierra Trail from west to east, concluding with a Mt. Whitney ascent before exiting at Whitney Portal. There’s some significant up and down on the route — it crosses the rugged Kaweah range, drops deep into Kern Canyon, and then climbs again to cross Whitney Trail Crest. This photograph is from the spectacular climb toward Kaweah Gap from the west. (If you look very closely you may be able to spot one of my fellow hikers.)

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: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake, Trees, and Mountains at Dawn

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Lake, Trees, and Mountains at Dawn
A quiet morning at a High Sierra backcountry lake in Sequoia National Park.

Lake, Trees, and Mountains at Dawn. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A quiet morning at a High Sierra backcountry lake in Sequoia National Park.

As is often the case, one thing leads to another, and I sometimes end up in a place I did not anticipate. I saw a question online about a particular sort of landscape subject, and I immediately thought of a photograph of mine that was related to that discussion. But after finding my photograph and thinking how it might inform that discussion… I decided not to share it. But looking for that photograph sent me back into an archive of photographs from a wonderful trans-Sierra pack trip I made almost fifteen years ago — and that’s where I found this photograph. (Perhaps not surprisingly, I’m now revisiting that entire archive!)

That trip was a wonderful one. A small group of friends(1) spent almost two weeks on the trail, crossing the range from west to east. On such a long trip some days are devoted to just moving onward toward the eventual goal, and this was one of those days. We selected this camp location because it was conveniently located along our route. This lake is not what I regard as an alpine spectacle — instead it is a quiet place, and a fine spot to just slow down for a moment. I was up early the next day to photograph the first light on nearby peaks in the morning quiet.

1 — Bonus photo! Here’s a picture of our little gang on the summit of Mount Whitney near the end of the trip.

Talusdancers on Mount Whitney, 2008
The Talusdances on the summit of Mount Whitney, August 11, 2008. (L-R: Ernie, Caroline, Owen, Emily, Steve, Dan)

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Southern California

Photographing the Canyon

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Photographing the Canyon
Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in a desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

Photographing the Canyon. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in a desert canyon, Death Valley National Park.

My photographs of desert canyon landscapes are virtually always devoid of people. Without some frame of reference it is difficult or even impossible to judge the scale of these places — a cliff could be four feet high or forty, a rock might be a pebble or a boulder. This photograph includes my wife, Patricia Mitchell, at work photographing a section of a narrow desert canyon in Death Valley back in late March.

I often favor longer lenses for landscape photography, but in these canyons I usually use an ultra-wide lens. The canyon walls are only feet apart in the narrowest places, and often the view forward and backward may stretch no more than a few dozen feet. Photographing as a duo in such a place requires teamwork, and each person typically must work alone — or all of the photographs will feature other photographer! She went first as we re-entered this canyon. I followed, and initially photographed back in the direction from which we came. Once she moved forward I turned my attention into the canyon and then kept my distance so that we would not interfere with one another’s compositions.

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

Toward the Light

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Toward the Light
Brighter walls beyond canyon narrows, Death Valley National Park.

Toward the Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Brighter walls beyond canyon narrows, Death Valley National Park.

There is a seasonal cycle to my landscape photography, which should be no surprise since these cycles are visible in the landscape itself. This takes me back to certain subjects almost every year: migratory birds and access to desert and to snowy landscapes in winter, access to warmer places and new life in spring, the Sierra and other travel opportunities in summer, the colors of autumn. This year’s seasonal change is well underway, as I think I’m getting close to the end of this year’s new Death Valley photographs.

This is yet another one from a very fruitful visit to this canyon in the mountains of Death Valley. We drove there, hiked in, and then took our time hiking back down, pausing frequently to photograph the narrow sections in gentle afternoon light. In this photograph, as in a few others from this location, the dark and banded foreground rock in the shadows contrasts with the lighter walls that get more of the warm-colored sunlight.

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.