Tag Archives: yosemite

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

The Old Oak Tree

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The Old Oak Tree
“The Old Oak Tree” — An old oak tree with autumn foliage, Yosemite Valley.

While this big oak tree grows in a meadow filled with scores of other beautiful oaks, it presents a different appearance than its neighbors. The other trees, perhaps because many of them grow close together, tend to be somewhat tall and slender. But this tree is massive, with thick trunk and main branches, and it spreads widely — enough so that it is as wide as it is tall.

One of Yosemite Valley’s monumental granite faces rises nearby behind this tree and its neighbors. Because that face is tall and to the south, its shadow falls across the trees for hours every day. I photographing it after the late-day shadow had arrived, which gives a softness to the image that would not be there in full sunlight.

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

Autumn Flowers

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Autumn Flowers
“Autumn Flowers” — Autumn flowers scattered across a Yosemite Valley meadow.

The fall colors brought me to Yosemite Valley for a few days at the end of October. But autumn there isn’t just abut those colors — everything about the place is different during this season. The Valley seems to slow down and mellow out, and I sense that winter is just around the corner, even on a warm, sunny day like this one.

There’s a lot going on in this photograph, and it was a challenge to incorporate all of these elements. Right in front of the camera we see the golden-brown meadow, dotted with white flowers . The forest begins beyond that, with deciduous trees close to the Merced River and then large groves of conifers. In the distance, we see several of the famous Yosemite Valley granite cliffs, with details muted by haze and bright late-afternoon sun.

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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.

Conservation/Environment, History, News, Photographers, Stories

The First Light Group, Through My Eyes

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I will have more to say about this video and its context in a later post (though see below for a bit more information), but I wanted to share this Scot Miller video about the band of photographers known informally as “The First Light Group” and my role in the group.

There’s a lot more to say about the First Light project, but for now here is a little background. In the early 2000s the group assembled, with support from the Yosemite Conservancy, and headed into the Sierra Nevada backcountry with a special mission: to place landscape photographers in the wilderness for extended periods of time to create photographs that embody the character of these remote places. Over a period of nearly two decades we photographed all over the range.

You can subscribe to Scot Miller’s YouTube channel, where you’ll find more First Light videos and plenty of other material from him.

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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest and Dome, Sunset

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Forest and Dome, Sunset
“Forest and Dome, Sunset” — Evening light on lodgepole pines and a Yosemite high country dome.

This may (or may not!) be my final post of a summer 2025 photograph from the Yosemite high country. (As long time readers know, sometimes I do dig back into the archives and work up “left behind” photographs.) It is a modest little photograph, but it seems appropriate to conclude the coverage of the high country year with sunset light on forest and granite.

I made the photograph on an early July walk through parts of Tuolumne Meadows. I was up there, in part, to adapt to the elevation before an upcoming pack trip — but also, obviously and predictably — to do some photography. I was out wandering the meadows as the day came to an end, and I made the photograph as the last direct sunlight, soft and warm, illuminated the forest at the east end of the meadow and the line between light and shadow began to ascend the dome.

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.