Tag Archives: yosemite

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Boulders, Cathedral Range, Sunset

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Boulders, Cathedral Range, Sunset
Sunset light on glacial erratic boulders and the distant peaks of the Cathedral Range, Yosemite National Park.

Boulders, Cathedral Range, Sunset. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on glacial erratic boulders and the distant peaks of the Cathedral Range, Yosemite National Park.

This backcountry photography trip followed a somewhat different format for our group. It was somewhere between a base camp trip and a through hike. The group often heads into the backcountry, sets up a base camp, photographs the heck out of the surrounding area for a week, and then goes back out. But this time we more or less split the difference between the two modes. First we spent a few days at a lovely, quiet Yosemite backcountry lake, and then we moved on to another location that put us closer to the trailhead of our exit route.

The first location’s lake sits in a bowl high on a forested ridge, dropping off on one side into a very impressive river canyon. The fact that it sits along that river’s drainage means that there is a lot of open country between it and higher Sierra ridges, including the distant peaks in this evening photograph. They belong to the Cathedral Range, a series of ridges and peaks cutting across the Yosemite high country and contributing greatly to the rocky, alpine character of the Tuolumne High Sierra region.

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: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Alpine Lake Reflections

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Alpine Lake Reflections
Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

Alpine Lake Reflections. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

This photograph takes us back to the northern reaches of the Yosemite backcountry, off of a trail that ultimately heads further north and out of the park. We left the main trail in this area and wandered up into a valley with a series of beautiful subalpine and alpine lakes below high ridges and peaks near the Sierra crests. The group set up camp here and photographed for days.

This lovely lake with its far talus-slope shoreline was moments from our campsite; we photographed it often and passed it every time we went off to more distant locations. Perhaps because it was so convenient, but also because it was so beautiful, we often ended up photographing along its shoreline in the morning. I made this photograph shortly after the sun had cleared the ridge on the far side of the lake, sending beautiful backlight down onto the trees on the peninsula.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees, Blood-Red Sunset Light

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Trees, Blood-Red Sunset Light
Intensely red light on granite slabs and trees in the Yosemite National Park backcountry.

Trees, Blood-Red Sunset Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Intensely red light on granite slabs and trees in the Yosemite National Park backcountry.

This is the third and final in this short sequence of photographs from this late summer evening in the Yosemite backcountry. I had passed over the summit of a granite dome just before sunset and was descending granite slabs along the drop-off into a large canyon, heading back toward camp, as the sunset light became intensely red.

The intense color was largely the result of the not-so-great air quality to the west of here. September and October are traditionally the wildfire season in California, and the atmosphere is often softened by a sort of general haze at this time of year. In addition, because I was in a location where I had a direct line of sight to the horizon across the Great Central Valley, the light was passing through more of this hazy atmosphere than usual. The result was light with a color intensity that might seem almost unbelievable — but I guarantee that it was real.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Across The Tuolumne

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Across The Tuolumne
Looking across the canyon of the Tuolumne River toward the Cathedral Range, evening.

Across The Tuolumne. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking across the canyon of the Tuolumne River toward the Cathedral Range, evening.

This is the second in a sort of sequence of three photographs made one after the other on a late summer evening as I approached, topped, and descended from a high overlook in the Yosemite backcountry. The specific terrain of this area high in the Tuolumne River drainage lends itself to such views. Because the river is large and the upper drainage expansive, from many ridges and peaks one can look over vast swaths of the park’s highlands. And there are many such high points along the edges of this drainage and even along ridges that cut across it.

I made this photograph late in the day as the shadows were lengthening and the color of the light was warming. The atmosphere is hazy, a natural condition in the late season, when wildfires begin to increase throughout the west. Those familiar with this area can probably pick out quite a few Sierra landmarks.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.