First Light – Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Backcountry

The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Valley blog has several post about the release of this new book by highly regarded and experienced Yosemite photographers Karl Kroeber, Scot Miller, Charles Cramer, Mike Osborne, and Keith S. Walklet. Photographs from the book will be on display at the Gallery until August 19. (I’ll be in Yosemite later this week – I’ll have to stop by!) More information about the book is available here, including a short video.


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. 

Lodgepole Forest, Evening, Tioga Pass

Lodgepole Forest, Evening, Tioga Pass

Lodgepole Forest, Evening, Tioga Pass. Yosemite National Park, California. July 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The edge of the lodgepole forest near Tioga Pass in evening light – Yosemite National Park, California.

I drive past this grove of trees just inside the Yosemite National Park boundary near Tioga Pass many times each season as I cross the pass. I especially like these densely growing trees in the evening and early morning light when the detail of many trees and even more branches merges into darkness in the distance. I stopped on this evening when the trees at the edge of the forest were mostly illuminated by light reflected from the lower slopes of Mt. Dana.

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: tuolumne, meadow, tioga, pass, road, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, lodgepole, forest, tree, grass, evening, dusk, light, thick, dense, branch, trunk, grove, forest, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

New Post at California Nature Photographers Blog – Recent BW Photographs

I just posted a set of recent black and white photographs from the Sierra Nevada and points east (the Mono Lake and June Lakes Loop area) over at the California Nature Photographers blog.

If you haven’t visited that web site yet, I encourage you to take a look and subscribe to the blog’s RSS new feedfeed. A group of us contribute posts to the site, providing a diversity of perspectives on the natural world in California.


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.

First Light, Mount Gibbs

First Light, Mount Gibbs

First Light, Mount Gibbs. Yosemite National Park, California. July 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light shines across the face of Mt. Gibbs above Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California.

This photograph was made in the early morning alongside Tioga Meadow, the large meadow just below Tioga Pass inside the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park, as the first sun crept over the Sierra crest and began to hit the upper slopes of Mt. Gibbs. This is one of my favorite locations along Tioga Pass Road, probably because it is the highest area right at the pass but also because of the extensive rolling meadows containing the skeletons of trees knocked down by avalanches and because of the proximity to much higher peaks, such as Mt. Dana.

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: mount, gibbs, morning, dawn, sun, light, mountain, snow, field, red, brown, clouds, sky, blue, forest, trees, meadow, rock, tioga, pass, road, tuolumne, meadows, yosemite, national park, california, usa, ridge, mountains, landscape, sierra nevada, range, scenic, travel, stock