Morning, Subalpine Lake - a photo on Flickriver

Morning, Subalpine Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 3, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

A granite peninsula holding small trees extends into the waters of a subalpine lake, Yosemite National Park

I made this photograph on our first real photography day of our early September backcountry photography trip in Yosemite National Park. There is a sort of life-cycle to any trip and especially for longer trips like this one. The entire first day of the "expedition" was spent loading vehicles, driving across California, and getting settled into first night accommodations in the eastern Sierra. The second day was a travel day — first a drive up to our trailhead, getting our gear to the packers who would take the majority of it in to our destination, leaving vehicles and starting the long hike, arrival and camp setup, and dinner... and the day was gone. So this third day of the trip was the first for serious photography.

The first day in a location where you will spend substantial time photographing is an interesting one, and the first morning is a very special time. After two days of transit, this is when photography begins. We arose before dawn, loaded up packs of camera gear, and headed down to the lake, each following his or her own path. It is a time of renewal and recognition — of the features and sensory elements of being in the Sierra high country and of focusing your "seeing" intensely. I began by first making an obligatory warm-up shot or two and then working my way around the west side of the lake, looking back across it toward the early morning sun as it eventually rose high enough to backlight trees and rocks. When I look at this photograph, the point of view and the elements in the frame remind me again of those first day sensations as we began our relationship with this lake and its surrounding terrain, a location we would photograph for the better part of a week.

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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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.

Taken on: September 3, 2014

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Groups appears in: • High Sierra • yosemite more » • U.S. National Parks • U.S. National Parks and Places • Wilderness • Landscape photography • Outdoor Photographer Magazine (Unofficial) • California Wilderness Areas • Picturing California • National Parks, Monuments and Historical Sites • California Landscape and Seascape • Mountain & Water • Mountains and alpine • Yosemite National Park • Mountain Scenes • WorldWide Wild Wilderness!! • Beautiful California • Yosemite Photographers • nature and landscape photography • Sierra Nevada/ Yosemite Backpacking • Beautiful Mother Nature • Scenic Areas or Photos in Rural Areas • Love of the Great Outdoors • Nature's Call. • Northern California Photographers • California Photographer • California Landscapes and Desert • America's Best Landscapes • Capture Nature / No human elements / No Zoo shots or people in y • California Photo Trekkers • Great Pictures of Landscapes • G Dan Mitchell's "Sierra Nevada - Photographs from the Range o • America's National Parks and Monuments Group • Fabulous Forests • Yosemite Blog • California Nature Photography • Mountain Trail Photo Nature Photography Group (POST 1/COMMENT 3) • Earth Images Nature Photography • Northern California Photography • Best of U.S. National Parks • Landscape QUALITY Photography/ADMIN Invitation ONLY • Celebrate California • F-Stop - Nature, Landscape & Wildlife • Yosemite Conservancy • Best of Yosemite • The Sierra Nevada Collection • Yosemite Photography « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/16.0, 1/30 sec, 102mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens:	EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	102mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Macintosh)
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