2005 Favorites
Since it is the end of the year and the traditional occasion to create a “best of” list, I thought it would be fun to collect my favorite shots from 2005. So, in no particular order (except that my very favorite one is last) here they are.
Black and White Oaks. Almaden Quicksilver Park. January 1, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
A stand of oaks at Almaden Quicksilver Park; taken on New Years Day 2005. I rediscovered this image recently while sorting through old photgraphs from earlier in the year.
I like the way the front tree frames the more distant trees and the way the curving trunks and limbs mirror one another. The original shot was taken using my older Canon Pro 1 digicam and envisioned as a color image, so I’m limited as to how large I can make this image. A project for the new year is to re-photograph this scene in order to create a better monochrome image.
Oak Grove and Fog. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 22, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
This is one of my favorite spots at Almaden Quicksilver Park south of San Jose. There is a cluster of oak trees on a small ridge covered with grass. In the fall and winter it receives interesting light as the fog begins to clear. I frequently visit this ridge, especially on foggy mornings.
Oddly, you might walk past this spot on a sunny summer day and not even notice it. I know that I did - several times - before encountering it on a mystical foggy morning over a year ago.
This image used a bit of (actually, a lot of) Photoshop trickery, including two layers of sharpening and a diffused luminosity blend layer.
Pastures and Eastern Sierra. Bishop, California. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
There were thunderstorms up and down the eastern Sierra on this late August afternoon as I started the long drive back home after driving way up into the White Mountains. The light and the clouds were stunning everywhere I looked, and I had been stopping every 10-15 minutes to take more pictures. I was beginning to become overwhelmed as I drove north out of Bishop and when I saw this golden light on the pasture with the thunderstorm over the Sierra crest… at first I was going to keep going. At the very last minute I veered off the highway onto a side road, pulled over, and took a few shots without the tripod. This was one of them.
Mo’s Cloud. Owens Valley near Mammoth, California. May 28, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
We spotted this remarkable cloud while camping in the desert near Mammoth during a Memorial Day ski trip. This portion is the west end of a layered cloud that extended for many miles to the left of what is shown here. I think this is probably what is known as the “Sierra Wave,” a cloud band that is formed by air rising over the Sierra crest.
The title “Mo’s Cloud” derives from the fact that Maureen (”Mo”), a friend and one of our group members, reported that she had watched this cloud for hours as she drove up the east side of the Sierra from Southern California.
Although the layered cloud moved little if at all, it was very windy where we were and the local clouds were moving quite quickly. Timing was everything in terms of getting an interesting pattern of light and shadow in the foreground.
This is possibly my second-favorite shot of the year.
Steps and Columns. San Francisco. July 10, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I had a chance to spend nearly 4 hours wandering around San Francisco on July 10, 2005. These columns and steps are at the front of a building near the Embarcadero Center. A quick look around did not reveal the identity of the building.
Golden Gate Bridge. July 3, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I took this picture during July on a Sunday afternoon while my wife was playing in the pit for Les Miserables. It was a sunny day in most of San Francisco, but the fog line was just inside the bridge.
This picture has undoubtedly been taken thousands (tens of thousands?) of times - go to Fort Point and go to the end of the breakwater at the right side of the fort and there is a small area just to the right of a fence. So, it is not an original but I still like it.
I did not notice the bird nicely centered in the upper section of the bridge when I took the photo. This is slightly ironic since I had tried to time several shots to intentionally include seagulls but had failed miserably.
Dawn. Dusy Basin. August 14, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
In mid-August I walked over Bishop Pass to join a group of friends on final two days of their 14-day pack Sierra pack trip. After two weeks on the trail they were very anxious to get over the pass for fresh food, showers, and a motel so we arose before dawn on this beautiful morning in Dusy Basin and were on the trail as the sun came up.
I can’t decide (don’t worry, I will eventually) whether I like this image best in monochrome or color. I like the start qualilty of monochrome, but I miss the green and blue in the foreground.
Dawn. Dusy Basin. August 14, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Aspen Grove. Near Carson Pass. October 8, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I took this shot on a day-long loop over Carson Pass, down the eastern Sierra to Lee Vining, and then back to the Bay Area via Tioga Pass. As expected during mid-October, there were stunning displays of fall aspen colors everywhere. However, with all of the giant and much more obvious aspen groves I saw in the eastern Sierra that day, I was fortunate to see this smaller stand on the road to Carson Pass.
Lakes Below Duck Pass. Near Mammoth Lakes. August 5, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
These lakes are perhaps a mile below Duck Pass in the Sierra near Mammoth Lakes. Duck Pass and, further on, Duck Lake is up the trail from Lake Mary. I was descending from Duck Pass after abandoning a 14-day pack trip on day 5 due to illness. (Of course, once I got out I felt fine and realized I could have continued…)
It had rained on me at the pass a few minutes earlier and there were heavy showers to the north. Meanwhile, the sun was peeking through breaks in the clouds around the edge of the storm, and it was that light which was passing across the lakes in the foreground.
Flowers at Sunset. Purple Lake. August 4, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Purple Lake is on the John Muir Trail just south of the Mammoth Lakes area. I was there on a recent pack trip with a group of friends.
Due to a late and heavy winter this year, the flowers bloomed a bit behind schedule and were at their peak while I was there. (The mosquitos were also thriving this year, but that is another story!)
Sharp-eyed observers will not be surprised that this photo is a composite of two images shot - on the tripod, of course - at different exposures. One was exposed for the bright sunset light on the peak and the other was exposed for the foreground grass and flowers. The two images were combined and tweaked in photoshop. This is my alternative to carrying the extra weight and bulk of graduated ND filters on the trail.
Wall. San Jose City Hall. November 19, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
A handheld shot from a walk past the new city hall buildings in San Jose last month as I was out trying out my new 17-40mm lens. I thought about doing this as a black and white image, but I like the very faint coloration of the curving wall and the slightly more saturated color of the concrete at the bottom.
Palm Trees. San Jose, California. July 12, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I had a few free minutes during a conference I was attending this July, and I saw this image out the hotel window.
Ridge. White Mountains. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
This August I found myself with a free day in the town of Bishop in California’s Owens Valley east of the Sierra Nevada. I decided to follow the road up into the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest high in the White Mountains, the next range east of the Sierras.
I drove as far as the highest grove at over 11,000 feet, something like 12 miles out on a narrow dirt track. The road continues another four miles to a locked gate, beyond which are UC research facilities including one at the top of 14,000+ White Mountain.
Tioga Pass Tarn at Sunset. Yosemite National Park. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I came over Tioga Pass in early August during the hour before sunset. I planned to re-take a picture of a small tarn below the parking lot at the pass. After completing that shot I happened to look behind me and saw the light on the distant peak over a different tarn.
I quickly moved the tripod and took a series of photos. This is a combination of two exposures, one set for the shaded foreground lake and the other for the distant ridge and sky.
(A tarn is a small, shallow alpine lake filled with snowmelt water, sometimes with no outlet stream.)
Mt. Winchell. Kings Canyon National Park. August 13, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Mt. Winchell is just south of Bishop Pass on the crest of the Sierra Nevada. I was intrigued by the repeating diagonals in this image along with the cloud shadow.
The shot was a lucky one. We had been cowering under darkening skies all afternoon and fully expected to get dumped on before dinner. Much to our surprise, the sky suddenly cleared around 4:30. I just happened to look up at this peak on the Sierra crest at the right moment with camera in hand. I had time to fire off a couple of shots, including this one with the cloud shadow placed diagonally across the face of Mt. Winchell.
This is my favorite shot of the year.
G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.06.2007 :: Uncategorized :: (Join the site to leave a comment.)
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