Tag Archives: backcountry

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

Subalpine Lake and Forest

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Subalpine Lake and Forest
A forest-line Yosemite National Park back-country lake.

Subalpine Lake and Forest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Forest borders aYosemite National Park back-country lake.

Technically this little lake is in the Yosemite National Park “backcountry…” but just barely. It is, as far as I know, the the closest spot to roads where you may backpack in the park and camp overnight. It is a bit of a special place for our family. I took each of our three children on their first backpack trips when they were three-years-old, and this was always the destination. The first two went with just me, but when it was time for our third to go he was accompanied by the whole family.

This past week I found myself between photography locations one afternoon, and on a whim I decided to hike up there again. It may have been the first time I decades. As I hiked the very short trail I thought back to those early trips. On the first one our oldest son took four hours to hike the 1. 2 miles. But I’m sure he looked at every rock, tree, and bug along the way. In some ways out daughter — the second to take the trip — may have been the most natural back county traveler as a child. (On one later trip she memorably sang most of the way up a nearly 8 mile hike.) The third trip was extra special, since the entire family went along and squeezed into a giant five-person backpacking tent, seeking protection from a thunder and lightning storm we still talk about. (“Make it stop, Daddy!” Though Patty remembers it as, “Make it stop, Mommy!”))

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sunset Fog and Clouds

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Sunset Fog and Clouds
Sunset fog and clouds above an Eastern Sierra Nevada lake after a storm.

Sunset Fog and Clouds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Sunset fog and clouds above an Eastern Sierra Nevada lake after a storm.

As I do my year-end traverse of photographs from the preceding year I often find things that were left behind. This is one of those photographs. It comes from a weeklong backcountry photographic sojourn in the Eastern Sierra with a group of friends/photographers. We set up a basecamp and photographed the heck out of our surroundings during that week, devoting more time to the area than we could on a typical point-to-point backpacking trip.

Since I’ve told the story here before, I’ll keep it short — but we lived through the worst summer rain storm I’ve experienced in the Sierra. Twenty-four hours later the storm finally cleared late in the day, and this bit of late sunset light lit up the layers of clouds and fog to the east. It was an astonishing evening, and my photographs individually contain only parts of the remarkable whole.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm Clouds

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Clearing Storm Clouds
Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Clearing Storm Clouds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Perhaps the most interesting skies are associated with transitions from one kind of weather to another. This includes not only the arrival of storms but also their departure. If the storm has been large and long, the first hints of its passage bring a feeling of home and light. Thinner areas appear in the cloud cover, in some places the sky becomes more blue than gray, perhaps a bit of sunlight shines through. The storm usually doesn’t depart all at once — more likely in fits and starts as lingering clouds move in and out.

After more than 24 hours of mostly rain, some of it heavy, the clearing finally began in the very late afternoon of the second day of our Sierra backcountry visit. At first we mostly just noticed that the rain had stopped, even though the clouds were thick and gray. We left our tents and wandered out to overlooks, hoping to make some photographs. Gradually the clouds rose higher, and gaps began to appear. Soon a bit of light came over the ridge to our west and the clouds over the lowlands to the east began to break up, revealing blue sky.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature

Stream, Boulders, and Alpine Meadows, Evening

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Stream, Boulders, and Alpine Meadows, Evening
Evening comes to boulder strewn alpine meadows to the west of high Sierra Nevada peaks.

Stream, Boulders, and Alpine Meadows, Evening. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Evening comes to boulder strewn alpine meadows to the west of high Sierra Nevada peaks.

This photograph comes from I might characterize as a “group hike” up into the high country from our “photographers’ base camp” in the Sierra backcountry back in August. My recollection is that this was the first full day if good weather after some challenges on the first two days. Most often we sort of wander off individually or in small groups to photograph, but on this late afternoon we all headed the same direction, following a stream up toward some high country locations that we knew about.

As we walked that way we frequently stopped at various points of photographic interest. First there was a cascade, then a waterfall that was flowing impressively following the previous day’s rain. Above this the trees became smaller and more widely separated, and too we were walking though timberline country, where meadows and boulder strewn terrain predominated. A tall ridge to our west eventually cut off the evening light, and I made this photograph just before I reversed course and started back towards camp.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.