Desert Mountains, Evening Virga. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A large band of virga falls from winter clouds above Death Valley mountains.
This was an evening of brief but miraculous atmosphere and light, largely because it was so unexpected. In January I had gone to Death Valley for a few days of winter photography. With the possible exception of the wildflower season, this is my favorite time to visit this landscape. The temperatures are moderate and even cold, crowds often diminish, and passing weather systems can produce beautiful skies. However, I managed to hit four days of fairly “blah” photographic weather — thick, undramatic clouds, opaque atmosphere, and a lot of flat light. What can I say? It happens if you are out there enough!
In such conditions, sometimes persistence can pay off. I kept at it, often in conditions that were not conducive to making special photographs, but that did keep me in the field. And at several points, typically for quite short periods of time, the light did show up. This evening was one of those times. Shortly before it had been overcast and gray, but during the last half hour or so of daylight the sun dropped below a cloud bank and shone through a horizontal gap, lighting mountains, desert and clouds, including one of the largest virga clouds I have seen, with rain falling towards but not reaching the mountains below.
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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