Tag Archives: yosemite

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

Two Domes, Evening

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Two Domes, Evening
Evening light on granite domes, meadows, and forest, Yosemite National Park

Two Domes, Evening. Yosemite National Park, California. July 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on granite domes, meadows, and forest, Yosemite National Park

As always when staying in and around Tuolumne Meadows — though this time I had to drive in from a more distant campground — I was out in the meadows as evening approached. The campground was still closed due to late-melting winter snows, so there were even fewer than usual people out enjoying the late-day light and benign clouds floating overhead.

As I walked through the meadow I enjoyed the constantly changing landscape and patterns of clouds and sunlight moved across the forest, meadow, and mountains. From moment to moment the light changed significantly enough to almost create new landscapes. At the moment of this photograph the main subject was actually darkened a bit by the shadow of a passing cloud — perhaps giving it a more ominous appearance — but the light was bright on the smaller, more distant dome and on the meadow and forest at the base of the dome.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Two Trees and Granite

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Two Trees and Granite
Two old trees grow at the base of a granite dome

Two Trees and Granite. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two old trees grow at the base of a granite dome

This is a slightly different treatment of the same subject I posted a few days ago. These trees grow on the broken talus at the base of this large expanse of glaciated granite. I’m astonished that they have managed to become so massive, given the rather difficult terrain upon which they grow.

These trees are familiar friends at this point. I’ve photographed them for quite a few years, usually with a bit of a wider perspective that includes more of their surroundings, from the dome itself to some large foreground trees that are out of the frame in this photograph. This time I decided to eliminate much of that surrounding material and let the trees appear more isolated from the competing subjects.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow

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Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow
Early morning light illuminates a ridge in glaciated granite terrain

Granite Ridge, Light And Shadow. Yosemite National Park, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light illuminates a ridge in glaciated granite terrain

I camped outside the park on this visit to the Sierra, and before dawn I was on the road and over Tioga Pass, heading toward various potential photographic subjects back along Tioga Pass Road. (I often end up camping over the pass on the east side of the park — this time it was because no campgrounds were yet open along the entirety of Tioga Pass Road due to the heavy winter snowfall and delays in clearing the roadway.) I wasn’t positive where I would photograph, but I knew that I’d find light if I looked.

After stopping to photograph a few other subjects I ended up all the way past Tenaya Lake, and I stopped at a well-known overlook. My initial idea was to photograph back-lit trees on ridges to the east, so I went to work on that subject first. As I finished I noticed that the sun was high enough that it was beginning to strike some of the high points on the large previously shaded granite slopes nearby. Here the first light has stretched across the length of a rib of rock, and in the shadows you can see the shapes of trees on the ridge over which the sunlight was streaming.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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: Unclassified, Photographs: Yosemite

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest

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Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest
The last ground fog clears in the distance beyond a young Tuolumne Meadows tree.

Young Tree, Meadow, and Forest. Yosemite National Park, California. August 15, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last ground fog clears in the distance beyond a young Tuolumne Meadows tree.

In mid-July we were in the Tuolumne Meadows area for a single night, camping at the main campground. It was a little bit of a lazy trip — photography was on the agenda, but the main reason we were there was to field-test some new gear that we plan to make more substantial use of on an upcoming trip. Very heavy wildfire smoke also put a bit of a damper on photography on the first day and into the evening. So when I went to sleep that night I wasn’t really sure if the smoke would clear in the morning, and I entertained the possibility of sleeping in.

A half hour before dawn I awoke and peered outside. It was hard to see in the faint light, but it appeared that the smoke had pretty much cleared, so I unzipped my sleeping bag, quickly dressed warmly, grabbed camera gear, and was on my way to the nearby meadow. I arrived before the first sun arrived, a very quiet and peaceful time when few others are out and about. In fact, for an hour I had “my” section of the meadow and surrounding forest entirely to myself. Soon the first beams of sunlight arrived and the thin ground fog began to dissipate. I love shooting into the morning light, especially when there is a just a bit of haze in the atmosphere. If you look closely you may be able to see the last remnants of the ground fog on the far side of the meadow.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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