Tag Archives: climber

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People

Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

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Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa
Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

Person Atop the Grandstand, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. March 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A climber stands atop “The Grandstand” formation in the middle of the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

I got a short period of good light when I visited the Racetrack Playa in late March… followed by an evening, a night, and a morning of mediocre light. Win some – lose some! When I first arrived at the playa it was still relatively clear, with only the thin high clouds seen in this photograph. My first stop was at “The Grandstand,” this interesting rocky hill in the middle of the otherwise perfectly flat playa. As I wandered around looking for good angles from which to photograph the formation, a succession of visitors climbed to the highest point of the formation. I had never thought to do this, even though I had climbed over part of the Grandstand to get to the other side on a previous visit. After waiting some time for the climbers to get out of “my shot,” I finally figured out that the lone figure atop this large rock made an interesting subject.

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

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/320 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, racetrack, playa, moving, rocks, the, grandstand, formation, man, person, climber, top, summit, atop, stand, brush, plant, sky, cloud, mountain, range, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, sport, active, adventure, drive, stock, blue

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

El Capitan, Morning

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El Capitan, Morning

El Capitan, Morning. Yosemite Valley, California. May 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light illuminates a small portion of the vertical face of El Capitan, Yosemite Valley. (black and white)

This is a black and white version of a photograph I posted earlier. Back in May I was photographing spring trees and meadow plants in El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite Valley. Since I happened to have the 400mm lens on the camera at one point I decided to do a few close shots of some sections of the face of the monolith. In the full size versions of this photograph I can make out a number of individual climbers and even see the ropes stretched between them.

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: national park, travel, yosemite, valley, national park, morning, spring, el capitan, cliff, face, mountain, rock, granite, climber, flake, crack, monolith, shadow, landscape, scenic, geology, big, wall, route, rope, haul sack, belay, lead, stock

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

El Capitan, Morning

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El Capitan, Morning

El Capitan, Morning. Yosemite Valley, California. May 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light illuminates a small portion of the vertical face of El Capitan, Yosemite Valley.

While photographing the oaks in El Capitan Meadow in early May I decide to point my lens up towards the vertical face of El Capitan. In the full size version of this print you can pick out a number of climbers in various places across the cliff.

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: national park, travel, yosemite, valley, national park, morning, spring, el capitan, cliff, face, mountain, rock, granite, climber, flake, crack, monolith, shadow, landscape, scenic, geology, big, wall, route, rope, haul sack, belay, lead, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Leaving Lembert Dome, Dusk

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Leaving Lembert Dome, Dusk

Leaving Lembert Dome, Dusk. Yosemite National Park, California. July 30, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hiker leaving the summit of Lembert Dome at dusk. Tuolumne Meadows, with the Sierra crest in the background. Yosemite National Park, California.

I shot this last summer on an evening when I had just finished photographing the Sierra sunset from the top of Lembert Dome in the Tuolumne Meadows area. The “good light” had seemingly ended and I had packed up my camera, lenses, and tripod and was heading down from the peak when there was a wonderful bit of post-sunset warm, soft light… just at the moment when this lone hiker crossed this section of the granite come below me. Not having time to set up my tripod and other gear properly, I simply grabbed three frames at very low shutter speeds, and I was very pleased when I found that one of them actually turned out beautifully. In this case, I was shooting hand held at such low shutter speeds that I had to rely on the image-stabilization feature of the lens I had on my camera at that moment.

(Update#2: Since I posted this color version I was contacted about licensing the use of  a black and white version of the photograph in a print journal. There are, I think, a few lessons in this shot and this experience.

  • First, not all landscape photography is done at a sedate and leisurely pace, pondering for many minutes the intricacies of composition and so forth. Sometimes things happen so quickly that you must depend upon instincts and react quickly to a situation that only lasts a moment. In this case I could not possibly have anticipated the light or the appearance of the lone hiker – when I saw this conjunction of subjects I had no time to set up a tripod.
  • Second, sometimes traditional landscape approaches (tripod, small aperture, etc.) won’t get the shot and the adaptability of your gear may save the day… or evening. I pulled out my camera and handheld the shot using the lens that was already on the camera with image stabilization and a rather low shutter speed.
  • Third, it probably isn’t news to any one, but sometimes an image that you conceive as color may turn out to work well in black and white, and vice versa. Be flexible.

keywords: lembert dome, tuolumne, meadows, yosemite, national park, california, usa, alpine, mountains, forest, ridge, sierra, nevada, crest, evening, climber, rocks, landscape, scenic, outdoor, hiking, climbing, travel, stock, person, man