Tag Archives: yosemite

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

Cascades, Tuolumne River

December 9, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Tuolumne River crosses cascades past rain-dampened granite to begin its descent into the Tuolumne River Canyon

We had some “interesting” and somewhat surprising weather on this early September back-county Yosemite visit. We were out for nearly ten days, and before hitting the trail many of us had been following long-range weather forecasts. As photographers, we were actually hoping for some “interesting” weather, but nothing appeared to be coming our way. A few days from the end of the trip, as we moved from one location to another, we were surprised to find ourselves under a huge plume of wildfire smoke, which we later found out came from the “Meadow” fire that quickly burned out of control in a somewhat different area of the park.

That evening we were in camp after dark, sitting around and talking and doing the usual camp stuff, when we were completely surprised by a flash of lightning in the sky to our southeast. Since we had not seen anything remotely suggesting rain or thunderstorms earlier in the day we weren’t quite sure what to make of this… but within a short time we started to pick up some rain. Overnight we all had plenty of opportunities to hear rain pattering on the roofs of our tents. When we awoke the next morning, a decent amount of rain had fallen, and there were still clouds around. It turned out that the rains continued off and on through them middle of the day. Between showers we headed out to make photographs, and as one shower approached a couple of us headed back to camp. Topping a ridge on a shortcut route, we had a clear view of the rocky terrain through which the Tuolumne River cascades into the upper Tuolumne Canyon, with the rocks still wet from the rain.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Quiet Shoreline, Morning

December 8, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A quiet morning shoreline at a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

This is a “quiet” photograph — no warm golden hour coloration, no grand vista, no motion. This is a very early morning scene. The sun has risen, but is still behind higher ridges to the east, so the shoreline is in shadow. The water is almost completely still, and although the photograph can’s show this, it is very quiet.

This is a beautiful time of day in the high country. The cold air makes fingers numb and encourages one to look for those first beams of warm light that will soon come over the ridge. The place itself is quiet, and that quiet seems to encourage me to move quietly as well, as I start my search for photographic subjects.

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

Stained Granite Slabs, Small Tree

December 4, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary tree grows among broken slabs of stained granite, Yosemite National Park

I suppose that this photograph also is at least partly of the “brave little tree” school, since there is indeed a little tree standing in an improbable looking place at the far side of this jumble of exfoliated and broken granite slabs. I wouldn’t say, though, that the tree is the primary subject — I think that it is more of a “surprise” that you might see only after first registering the shapes, textures, and colors of the rocks that fill the frame. It also may help establish a sense of scale for the broken slabs, though there are aspects of this image that work to defeat that possibility, too.

I remember the general place where I made this photograph, and I might be able to narrow down the location a bit if I went back to my files to see what I shot before and after. But the specific spot probably doesn’t matter that much. It is in the Yosemite backcountry, in a large area of granite slabs and bowl-like terrain where many of the rocks are stained an unusual and unusually intense reddish-brown color. It had rained overnight and was still raining off and on, so I worked with the soft light that comes with the passing clouds, making photographs in between the passing showers.

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

Small Tree, Granite, Morning Sun

December 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small pine finds a foothold in a small crack on an immense glacier-sculpted granite slab, Yosemite National Park

This photograph is connected to quite a few others that I have posted recently, and in multiple ways. One of the subjects that I focused on during our time photographing at this Yosemite backcountry location was the many small trees growing tenuously in small cracks and pockets in this large bowl of granite and among nearby granite slabs. It seems almost a rule that in the natural world something will manage to find a way to grow in almost any location where growth is remotely possible. These trees certainly seem to illustrate that idea, as they sometimes seem to have nothing more than a thin crack in otherwise solid granite in which to put down roots. This one grows part way up the incline of a sloping bowl that faces west, so the morning light doesn’t arrive until rather late. I photographed as the line of sunlight worked its way across the tree and toward the textured slabs beyond.

I have heard a photographer friend humorously refer to photographs like this as “brave little tree” shots. It certainly is a popular concept. While I often like to think that photographs may speak simply as images whose components of light and texture and shape and color evoke an emotional response, it doesn’t escape my notice that photographs also, partially through the expectation that photographs contain true images of things, may also resonate in other ways — and that a “brave little tree” may evoke connections to other “brave little” things and ideas, and that these associations may be personal and specific to each viewer.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: yosemite

Cascades, Tuolumne River

Quiet Shoreline, Morning

Stained Granite Slabs, Small Tree

Small Tree, Granite, Morning Sun

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