Tag Archives: range

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

Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point

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Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point - Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park
Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

Glacial Erratics, Near Olmsted Point. Yosemite National Park, California. September 16, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glacial erratic boulders rest on a tree-topped granite slab at sunset near Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park

Among the various landscapes of the high Sierra, this sort of scene most clearly says “Yosemite” to me: the glaciated granite slabs, mostly solid but broken but exfoliating and broken by cracks; the scattered glacial erratic boulders left behind by retreating ice; and the sparse trees somehow managing to not only survive but seemingly prosper while growing on almost solid rock. Although you don’t see precisely these things in the better known Valley, once you get up into the high country of the park you’ll see these features almost everywhere, and especially in the zone from, say, 8000′ of elevation or so and on up.

This photograph was made close to Olmsted Point. While Olmsted is probably better known for its “backside” view of Half Dome and its huge views up toward Tenaya Lake and on to the Sierra crest at Mount Conness, the immediate surroundings are full of this typical Sierra terrain that I described above. Most of the terrain above, below, and around the Point shows evidence of this glacial action, and by taking a few steps away from the parking lot in almost any direction (but do avoid cliffs!) you can find enough examples of this landscape to keep yourself occupied for a long time.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon

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Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon - Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada
Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 16, 2011. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada.

Parker Bench is an area above the northern portion of the June Lakes Loop, lying below Parker Lake and the canyon topping out at Parker Pass. The area is visible from highway 395, though driving up closer reveals a lot more details. The canyon itself appears to be very rugged, and I’m not even certain that a trail climbs it to the pass. I do know that the main route over the pass does not descend the canyon, instead turning south and climbing higher after it crosses the pass to exit Yosemite National Park. I’ve hiked to the pass quite a few times, and explored the country on the Yosemite side of the pass extensively.

This can be a good area to view almost the full transition of aspen color as it moves gradually downward from the highest elevations and out into Owens Valley and similar sage brush country areas. In this photograph extensive groves of aspens in full seasonal color are visible on the slopes to the right of the creek draining the canyon, and in a location that is not far from Parker Lake. When this photograph was made in mid-October of 2011, the color had worked its way down below the forest and out into the relatively low areas along the creeks descending from the higher peaks. Right in front of the camera there are bright colors from brush and a few aspens. Also note the unusually heavy snow up near the pass. October 2011 was an unusual month in that it started with a series of three relatively strong winter-type storms sweeping across the Sierra, closing a number of passes and dropping a foot or more of snow in places.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Steelhead Lake, Shoreline

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Steelhead Lake, Shoreline - The curving shoreline of Steelhead Lake, photographed in early evening light.
The curving shoreline of Steelhead Lake, photographed in early evening light.

Steelhead Lake, Shoreline. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 15, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The curving shoreline of Steelhead Lake, photographed in early evening light.

This is a fairly simple shot, and I think it represents a sort of scene that many Sierra Nevada back-country travelers know well. Steelhead Lake sits high on a bench up in the McGee Creek drainage, with a very tall ridge running to the east (and blocking early morning light) and a deep canyon to the west and northwest, with views toward the Sierra crest beyond. Unusual for an east-side location, there is much better light in the evening than in the morning. (More typically, east-side high country areas are open to the east and the morning light, and the evening light is blocked by the Sierra crest.) Most of the shoreline of the lake is forested, with the exception of a section at the upper end that is covered by the base of a talus field spilling down from the higher ridges.

We camped on what almost amounted to a peninsula, at least when viewed from the direction from which the trail arrives at the lake. Our spot on the peninsula was high enough to command a view of most of the moderate sized lake, and especially back across this little cover below our position. Late in the day as the setting sun approached the crest of the Sierra out of the frame to the left, low angle light slanted across the valley below and onto the low ridge along the edge of the lake, illuminating the atmospheric haze and back-lighting the trees along the shoreline.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Tree, Morning Light

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Aspen Tree, Morning Light - An aspen tree with morning backlight, photographed high above Bishop Creek Canyon
An aspen tree with morning backlight, photographed high above Bishop Creek Canyon

Aspen Tree, Morning Light. Bishop Canyon, California. October 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An aspen tree with morning backlight, photographed high above Bishop Creek Canyon

I’m continuing to indulge in my fascination with back-lit subjects today. This solitary aspen tree was located in an odd, out-of-the-way spot in the North Lake area, high in the Bishop Creek drainage. I had finished shooting at the lake and in the nearby aspen groves when I got the idea of walking the approach road a bit and finding a spot with a view to the canyon far below and to its shadowed walls on the far side of the canyon. For the sort of shot I had in mind, almost any small aspen tree would do as long as it was in the right place with the right background, and you would not think of this one as being anything special if you saw it – it is small, located on a dry and rocky section of hillside, and among a few other scattered small trees. However, it turned out to have what I wanted – a clear shot of the shadowed far hillside for background, separation from other trees, a few remaining leaves, and that backlight.

Photographing a location like North Lake can be an interesting experience. It holds at least a couple of the iconic Sierra autumn scenes with which many are familiar. (You can often find workshop participants lined up along a particular beautiful spot along the shoreline.) As with so many such subjects, most start with those impressive and familiar views – and they are worthy of photographs. But it is equally true that return visits to such a place, especially when they lead to more thorough observation, turn up a lot of interesting subjects that are not those familiar ones that first attracted our attention and lead to a much more complete knowledge of the place.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.