Dusk, Canyon, Trees. Yosemite National Park, California. September 6 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Trees on a ledge above a deep granite backcountry canyon catch the last light of the day
Late on this afternoon several of us wandered of to a nearby promontory, from which panoramic views of a large section of the Yosemite high country were available, along with more intimate subjects of granite boulders and trees growing tenuously on granite slabs. This is fun terrain to explore — open enough that you can go wherever you can find a way and wherever your skills and comfort with heights will permit, yet full on surprising little features worth seeing and photographing.
Soon the light began to fade from this high point as the sun dropped to the horizon, and it was time to start back toward camp. If I timed things just right I could shoot a bit into the post-sunset evening light and still have enough light left to pick my way down the ridge and then through the lakeside forest in diminishing light. As I descended along the spine of a glaciated granite ridge, the views overlooked the gorge of the Tuolumne River, and this valley was filled with luminous blue hour light. I found a spot with a fairly clear view across slightly lower, tree-covered ledges, and made a few photographs into the canyon, using my hands to shield the lens from the last bit of direct light before the sun dropped below the horizon.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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