Tag Archives: yosemite

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

Forest Path, Autumn

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Forest Path, Autumn
A Yosemite Valley trail winds among big trees and dense autumn foliage.

Forest Path, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A Yosemite Valley trail winds among big trees and dense autumn foliage.

My feelings about Yosemite Valley, the location of this photograph, are… complicated. The place is in my bones. I first visited decades ago when I was just a child — yes, I watched the original firefall. I’ve gone scores of times since then, and I have seen the place in all seasons and all kinds of conditions. There’s no question that it is an utterly remarkable, almost unbelievable landscape. On the other hand, the human impact can be troubling. There are traffic jams, the increasingly necessary rules and regulations are jarring, it can be smoky and smoggy. Honestly, I avoid the place as much as possible udring the summer months. And yet…

… it IS “in my bones.” And I keep going back. Autumn may be my favorite season, and on the right day and in the right places it is possible to escape the impediments to the enjoyment of the Valley’s beauty — perhaps during a quiet moment along a mostly-deserted trail that passes big trees, with the space between them filled by delicate branches of maples and dogwoods transitioning to autumn colors.

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

Autumn Light and Color

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Autumn Light and Color
Light through seasonal haze illuminates autumn trees in Yosemite Valley.

Autumn Light and Color. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Light through seasonal haze illuminates autumn trees in Yosemite Valley.

I have a few seasonal rituals, things I do and places I go every year. Visiting Yosemite Valley during its fall color season is high on the list. The Valley has color, but it comes later than the Eastern Sierra aspen transition. So I made one of my epic one-day up-and-back visits earlier this week. The plan: up hours before dawn, a four-hour drive to arrive just after sunrise, a few hours of morning photography, midday naps, more late-day photography… and then the four-hour drive back home again..

It is exhausting, but it is also exhilarating to see the peak color there once again, to renew my acquaintance with familiar subjects, and to investigate a few new ones. I know this specific location quite well — and if you visit the Valley much you probably know it, too. A gap in the Valley’s cliffs to the south-southwest allows beams of light to reach the valley floor and progress across the meadow and trees. I made a plan to be there for this light, and I made this photograph just as the light passed across this group of black oaks.

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

Morning View of the Sierra Crest

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Morning View of the Sierra Crest
Autumn view of Sierra Nevada crest peaks in the Yosemite region.

Morning View of the Sierra Crest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn view of Sierra Nevada crest peaks in the Yosemite region.

For several years I have been exploring areas east of the Sierra Nevada, partly because they are interesting (and often surprising) in their own right, but also because they sometimes afford interesting views of the Sierra crest and eastern escarpment. I often end up out here during my autumn explorations, perhaps because they are more likely to put me in a vehicle than on foot — but also because there are surprisingly impressive examples of autumn color out here.

I have spent more than a few very cold mornings in this area, waiting in the predawn dark for the first light to strike the distant peaks. Here it comes from behind me, over my left shoulder. It takes a while for the sun to clear the ridges behind me and illuminate the valleys and ridges between here and the Sierra. The peaks in this photograph stretch from the Ritter-Banner summits to some of the highest backcountry peaks in Yosemite National Park.

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 | Twitter | 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

Patterns In Water and Stone

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Patterns In Water and Stone
Granite shapes, colors, and textures reflected in still water, Sierra Nevada.

Patterns In Water and Stone. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Granite shapes, colors, and textures reflected in still water, Sierra Nevada.

Back in September I made my first summer visit of the year to the Yosemite high country. It isn’t ‘like me to miss almost an entire season up there, but we were traveling elsewhere this summer. To say the least, I was overdue to a visit to “my” mountains! I spent a few days camped just below the crest outside of Yosemite, and photographed both inside the park and along the eastern escarpment of the range.

This photograph comes from inside the park, at a place that has a bit of history in our family. When our (now grown) “kids” were very young, it was my tradition to introduce them to backpacking when they were three-years-old, and the trips always started at the trailhead next to this pond. The hike to our overnight camp was all of 1.2 miles, but to a small child I’m sure it counted as a major expedition. So, having an afternoon free during last month’s visit, I decided to go back and day-hike this little route. I made the photograph as I returned from the walk.

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 | Twitter | 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.