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

Young Trees, Dark Forest

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Young Trees, Dark Forest Young Trees, Dark Forest
Small, young trees growing at the end of a dark and dense forest

Young Trees, Dark Forest. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small, young trees growing at the end of a dark and dense forest.

After decades of hiking, camping, backpacking, photographing, skiing, (and in an earlier life occasionally climbing) all over the Sierra, there are odd little unexpected places that have some personal significance to me. In a few cases they are associated with a specific, memorable — there are several, for example, for each of my “kids.” (The “kids” are now all grown, but i remember!) Others connect to travels with backcountry friends or to events that occur there. In some cases, the development of a connection seems to be almost random, and there is nothing at all that points to them in any particularly objective way.

This is one of those latter spots. It isn’t far from a road, and I’ve always been attracted to the views for a mile or two on either side of the spot. But this place? There’s barely a turnout along the road. There is a narrow strip of meadow that runs quickly into thick, high-elevation forest, and it usually has a dark and impenetrable appearance. Logically I know what is beyond it, but it never quite feels like I do. And every year, more than once, I stop again and look at it and perhaps make a few photographs.

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: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Schloss Heidelberg and Karl Theodor Bridge

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Schloss Heidelberg and Theodor Heuss Bridge
Looking across the Neckar River toward Heidelberg Altstadt, Theodor Heuss Bridge, and Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle)

Schloss Heidelberg and Karl Theodor Bridge. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking across the Neckar River toward Heidelberg Altstadt, Theodor Heuss Bridge, and Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle).

As predicted earlier, this is another straight-ahead travel photograph. The photograph looks across the Neckar River at the Theodor Heuss Bridge, over Altstadt Heidelberg (the “old town”), and up to Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle).

Heidelberg is a home base when we travel to Europe, as Patty’s brother and his wife have lived in that area for a long time. We’ve stopped in there on each of our past three trips “across the pond,” so we have had time to get to know the parts of the city that are within walking distance of their place. And this scene is within that distance — up a hill, along a path, down some steps, and across the river, and we are there!

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature

Flower Detail

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Flower Detail
Macro photograph of the center of a delicately colored flower

Flower Detail. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Macro photograph of the center of a delicately colored flower.

A few weeks ago I accompanied the local flower photographer — the one I live with — to one of her favorite area botanical gardens where we spent a morning photographing flowers and plants. I’ve been having some fun with this recently, perhaps because i finally got the right lens for photographing this subject close-up!

Many things intrigued me about this flower. The remarkable patterns in the flower’s center, of course, were prominent. But working in soft light, at least partially created by using a scrim for shade, an amazing range of subtle colors became visible — it seemed at first like a white flower, but in this light the presence of tones ranging from blue to pink became clearer.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Peak and Lake, Afternoon

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Peak and Lake, Afternoon
A Sierra Crest peak stands against the sky above a rocky basin and small lake

Peak and Lake, Afternoon. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Sierra Crest peak stands against the sky above a rocky basin and small lake.

This photograph comes from almost a decade ago, when a group of friends ascended into this alpine region just east of the Sierra Nevada crest in the John Muir Wilderness, and area of rocky slabs, talus fields, lakes, and high peaks. We spent several days camped here, exploring nearby terrain. I hope to return again before long, which is perhaps why I resurrected this older photograph.

These areas just below and east of the peaks of the crest present steep and rugged country, with the highest peaks sometimes rising quickly to 7000 feet or more above the valley to the east of the range. This is an area of morning light, as the peaks and high valley generally face toward the rising sun. Late in the day, on the other hand, the sun generally drops behind the peaks well before sunset, leaving soft and shadowed light behind.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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