Tag Archives: young

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

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

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Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Meadows and rocks along the shoreline of upper Young Lake with Sierra Crest peaks reflected the distance, Yosemite National Park.

During the last week of July I backpacked to the Young Lakes area of the Yosemite High Sierra near Tuolumne Meadows to spend the better part of four days visiting and photographing the lakes and other features of this area. I’ve been here many times, but this is the first time that I simply stayed put for several days and visited all three Young Lakes and Roosevelt Lake.

The three Young Lakes are all within about a mile of one another, strung along a creek below the ridge running out the Ragged Peak. Each has a distinct personality, and it isn’t surprising that the upper lake is the most alpine of the three, mostly surrounded by open sub-alpine meadows, a sparse forest of small trees, and open views of the surrounding peaks at or near the crest of the Sierra Nevada range.

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

keywords: upper, young, lake, shoreline, rock, meadow, grass, tree, forest, mountain, boulder, reflection, meadow, sky, cloud, evening, sunset, sierra, nevada, range, yosemite, national park, landscape, nature, stock, hike, backpack, alpine, california, usa

Site News

A Couple of Quick Updates

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PeterP wrote left a “comment” asking how I do black and white conversions. I replied with a brief overview of my approach to using the “Black and White” layer in CS4 and then working with multiple masked curves layers to fine tune the resulting image.

I returned yesterday from a four-day pack photography backpack trip into the Young Lakes area of the Yosemite back-country out of Tuolumne Meadows. I’m currently going through a few hundred RAW files and beginning to work on a few of them. Conditions in the Sierra this past week were “interesting” – meaning some pretty good sized thunderstorms every afternoon and lots of interesting light somewhat marred by occasional smoke floating up from a wildfire burning lower in the Tuolumne River drainage.

 

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls

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Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls

Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. – all rights reserved.

Seagulls take to the air around a young elephant seal at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery, California.

This young elephant seal had just begun to wriggle its way up the beach at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery when the flock of birds in front of it began to take to the air. A moment later there was a veritable cloud of birds surrounding this animal.

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

keywords: elephant, seal, rookery, beach, shore, piedras, blancas, california, usa, wildlife, sea, mammals, seagulls, flock, flight, alight, wing, beak, orange, water, beach, wave, surf, nature, wildlife, gull, sand, young, stock, marine

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Elephant Seals Sparring

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Two Elephant Seals Sparring

Two Elephant Seals Sparring. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two young elephant seals sparring at the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas, California.

From what I read, these are young “sub-adult” males who “spar” during the early summer period. The real battles are apparently waged by the adult males during the birthing and breeding period. I’m no expert on elephant seal behavior, but while these “sub-adult” sparring matches seem fairly benign, I’ve seen what appeared to be rather vicious battles between older, scarred males. These two fellows had at it for a few moments, belly bumping, intertwining their heads, and generally play fighting – while the other seals nearby seemed to not pay any attention at all.

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

keywords: elephant, seal, rookery, beach, shore, piedras, blancas, california, usa, wildlife, sea, mammals, young, male, marine, mammal, spar, sparring, fight, behavior, summer, sand, water, ocean, pacific, highway, one, nature, travel, stock, animal, wild