Basin Mountain, Morning Light. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light with clearing clouds above Basin Mountain and the Sierra Crest near the high desert of the Buttermilks, Sierra Nevada, California.

I awoke well before dawn in Bishop on this early October morning with intentions of being at a location such as North Lake for dawn, but as I ascended the road into the Sierra from Bishop I was distracted by impressive cloud formations over the Sierra crest around Basin Mountain and the peaks of the crest. I spontaneously made a change in plans and turned off the main road towards the Buttermilks to see if I could find a place to photograph this scene before it all ended.

There is a small “village” up Starlite Road from 168, and a gravel road continues beyond it. This road soon took me to the top of a small hill before a big drop-off and once I spotted the way the peaks lined up and the location of the trees I decided to stop here, set up, and be ready to shoot dawn light.

While the light itself seems quite interesting, one of the most unusual features is seen in the shape of the clouds above the crest – they almost trace the rough outline of the high peaks.

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.

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