Sierra Sunset Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dissipating thunderstorm clouds and summer Sierra Nevada sunset sky

This was one of the later photographs in the quick series I made during the very last few minutes of this evening, on which gray and flat light suddenly morphed into a show of spectacular color for a few moments right at sunset. Clouds were thick above my position. There were some breaks to the west, but they appeared to be too far north to let direct light reach me or my surroundings. But, so far to the west as to be beyond my sight, there was apparently a shallow break between the distant edge of the cloud shield and the horizon. Moments before sunset this light came in under the clouds and suffused the landscape with color.

I worked quickly to make photographs of the intensely colorful light on mountain peaks along the Sierra crest and on nearer granite domes and spires. This light began to fade after just a few short minutes, so I turned my attention back to the west where the clouds were rapidly dissipating. Above two ridge lines, one of rock and one covered by forest trees, layers of clouds were arrayed against the colorful sky.

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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 and Amazon.
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