Tag Archives: wilderness

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trunks and Needles (Vertical)

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Trunks and Needles (Vertical)
“Trunks and Needles (Vertical)” — Trunks and needles at the base of a small copse of Sierra Nevada backcountry trees.

This photograph is the companion to one of the same subject that I shared a while ago — that one was in landscape (or wide) orientation, while this one is in portrait mode. I photographed the bases of these closely-spaced trees during a short backpacking trip into the Sierra Nevada east of Yosemite National Park back in July.

These pines (lodgepole) are ubiquitous in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, and their form varies greatly depending on things like the elevation, the nature of the ground they grow on, and available moisture. While they can form forests of tall and straight trees, they can also adopt the twisted and bent forms typical of high elevations trees.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lakeside Meadow, Boulders, and Trees

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Lakeside Meadow, Bourlders, and Trees
“Lakeside Meadow, Boulders, and Trees” — Before the sun arrives, a scene at the shore of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake with meadow, boulders, and trees.

The Sierra Nevada is a place of diverse terrain — rugged alpine ridges and summits, gentle meadows, both dense and open forests, streams and rivers, and more. But my favorite places are mostly like this one, where the last trees are about to give way to barren alpine country, and where meadows, running water, and lakes are plentiful.

This scene is typical of that region. It is along the shoreline of a moderate-sized lake at just over 10,000′ of elevation. Away from the meadow and the lake, forests of good-sized lodgepole pines grow, but here in the open it is all about the light, meadows, rocks, sparse trees, and water.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

One Rock

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One Rock
“One Rock” — A solitary orange-tinted rock on a bed of blue and gray rock.

Rocks tell stories in the high country of the Sierra Nevada. I can’t understand the details of all of these stories (I’m not a geologist!) but I understand some of the themes. One is the constant wearing down and eroding of the highest peaks, a process that eventually transports rocks far from their source. And when this happens you find things like this solitary orange-toned rock sitting on a bed of entirely different material.

These small details fascinate me in the mountains. Yes, I do love and am impressed by wide panoramas and towering, dramatic ridges. But over time I’ve learned to look at smaller things. They provide so much material for photography, they are everywhere, and they turn seemingly familiar landscapes into endlessly fascinating places.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Crest, Evening Light

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Sierra Crest, Evening Light
“Sierra Crest, Evening Light” — Early evening light on a copse of small trees, a bit of meadow, and peaks leading to the Sierra Nevada crest.

This photograph seems to me to have the “classic Sierra Nevada” backcountry “range of light” look. It is from my favorite terrain, those places just below timberline where the trees are short and rocky meadows abound, and where there are open views of alpine peaks. Even better, I made this photograph very late in the day as the evening light was beginning to warm the colors of the landscape.

It was a joy to spend a few days in this backcountry location with friends back in July. We did a low-key loop just outside of Yosemite, to the east of the park. The highest peaks in the photograph sit right on the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and the park is on the other side of that ridge.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.