Evening Light, Sierra Crest. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.
sunset light illuminates Sierra crest peaks as summer clouds clear beyond Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park.
This is the second photograph in this series that I’ve shared recently. (Two more are in the pipeline.) I posted a slightly different one that rendered the scene in portrait orientation. But a bigger difference is how the light evolved over the couple of minutes between the two exposures. At this time of day in these conditions, the light is very dynamic as it shifts from yellowish toward pink and red and ultimately to the blue tones of dusk. Meanwhile, the sunset light from the west is affected by intervening clouds, and the light and color move across the landscape. In this exposure, those blue tones are strengthening in the foreground forest and meadow and in the darker clouds above the lenticular formations.
Often a scene suggests one particular photographic interpretation or perhaps two. Maybe portrait- and landscape-orientation versions are in order or there is more than one way to frame the composition. But on a spectacular evening like this one when the scene remains compelling as it undergoes radical transformations of color and light, it is possible to end up with too many photographs! Originally I strained to hold myself to a series of four from one vantage point. However, after returning to these images recently I now see that others work, too — like this one.
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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You’ll have two more to compare — I’m not quite done with this evening yet! It was one of the most astonishing evenings of conditions, light, and color I’ve experience in the Sierra.
Oh I love this! I think this is my favorite so far simply because there’s more of the beauty! Get that orange sky in the portrait one is so gorgeous as well! Glad you took several, looking forward to the next two!!