Tag Archives: young

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

Young Trees and Meadow, Tioga Pass

June 10, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Young trees grow along the edge of subalpine meadows at Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park.

This meadow, right below Tioga Pass – which is among the trees in the saddle in the upper part of the photograph – is something of a magical spot in the Sierra. It is, of course, the highest point that you can drive to in the park, and it sits right on top of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. At just slightly less than 10,000′ of elevation it is verging on the true alpine zone. Because of elevation and location, it is only open for a few months each year between roughly the end of spring and generally some time in November. (For those of us who think of this as it looks in summer, it is sobering to remember that during the majority of the year it is a cold and snow-covered place.) Once you pass over Tioga you begin to descend into the very different world of the high deserts east of the crest. Yes, it still feels like the high country for a while, but within miles you are in hot dry places that are not at all like this alpine terrain.

Oddly, while a thin band of trees crosses the saddle at the pass, much of the area on either side is meadow. This section is on the “Yosemite side,” and is an extension of the many meadows along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River which drains this area around Mount Dana. As if to reinforce the idea that this is not as gentle a place as it may appear in the summer, parts of the meadow are filled with the bleached remains of trees struck down by avalanches from the ridge that is out of this photograph to the left. The trail to the summit Mt. Dana, of the second-highest peak of Yosemite (being a few feet shorter than Mt. Lyell), begins by crossing this meadow.

Although I drive over this pass with some frequency, I virtually always stop and get out of the car and look around for at least a moment. On this late-July visit I stayed more than a moment, spending a good portion of an afternoon wandering about the meadow and photographing these young trees, small streams and ponds, fallen trees, some of the more distant mountains, and much else.

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

Young Tree and Granite Wall

May 11, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A young tree grows against a granite wall along the north side of Yosemite Valley.

This tree (and its nearby oak partner) and I have become good friends over the past few years. I first photographed it in the fall some years back, though the oak made a better shot at that time given its fall color leaves. But every time I walk along a certain area under the cliffs on the north side of Yosemite Valley I check in here to see what the light is doing.

During the first weekend of May I was in the Valley for photography and to visit the reception for Michael Frye’s exhibit at the Ansel Adams Galley. After spending an enjoyable hour and a half or so viewing Michael’s prints and meeting and talking with a wonderful group of photographers and photography enthusiasts at the Gallery I left to go wander a bit and make some photographs. When I came to this spot, clouds were starting to appear in the late afternoon sky above the Valley. This is a kind of ideal light since these conditions soften but don’t completely destroy the sunlight, and diffused light gets down into the forest and fills out the shadows.

I love the texture of these huge blocks of flat granite, covered with lichen. I like the visual quality of this rock, but I also like the physical quality of it; this probably dates back to a time some years ago when I was a rock climber for a few years. So while the tree seems like the main subject here, the rock surface is for me just as important.

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

Tree and Cliff Above Middle Young Lake

September 30, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A tree grows at the rocky edge of a cliff above Middle Young Lake and the forest receding into the late-afternoon western light, Yosemite National Park, California.

Continuing the process of milking my mid-September shoot at Young Lakes for as many photographs as possible, here’s one more. As I wandered around the “side” of the upper lake I saw a meadowy area below the outlet stream that looked interesting, so I followed it to the beginning of a steep drop off towards the middle lake. Here the combination of low-angle back light glancing off or the edges of the rocky outcropping and the distant forest-covered hills fading into the sunny haze caught my attention. It was also interesting to think about the fact that I had just walked past the lake seen at the lower left perhaps no more than 30-45 minutes earlier.

This photograph is 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

Boulders, Trees, and Cliff – Upper Young Lake

September 29, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early evening light on boulders, trees, and cliffs along the edge of Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

Seeing that this feels like about the 100th photograph in this series from Upper Young Lake, I’m half tempted to title it “Yet Another Upper Young Lake Photograph.” I won’t, but I will keep the commentary short on this one. Shot on the same mid-September evening along the shore near the lower end of the lake, I used a longer focal length for this one and composed it to include a slightly darker and steeper section of the cliffs that rise from one side of the lake.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: boulder, rock, tree, grove, cliff, face, crack, meadow, grass, brush, shore, shoreline, upp

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