Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sunset Storm Light

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Sunset Storm Light
Clearing storm clouds at a final wash of sunset color above the Sierra crest near Tuolumne Meadows

Sunset Storm Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clearing storm clouds at a final wash of sunset color above the Sierra crest near Tuolumne Meadows

This is another photograph from my mid-July evening of miracle light — or, more accurately, my five minutes of miracle light! As I wrote earlier, I had ascended this high point in the Tuolumne Meadows area on an evening when the light was about as “blah” as it gets. There were weak thunderstorms floating around over the crest, but they were more gray and flat that electrical and exciting. And the cloud shield extended a good distance to the west, which meant that no western light was making its way in to live up the scene. But there I was, on top of a high and spectacular place with a remarkable panoramic view, so I was starting to settle in to simply enjoy the experience and perhaps not make photographs.

But… sometimes boring conditions can actual be precursors to sudden changes and even very special conditions. On overcast mountain evenings (and mornings) there may be a distant break in the clouds near the horizon, and if the setting (rising) sun passes through that space at the right moment a sudden beam of colorful light may illuminate the landscape with golden hour or pinkish light. I felt that the odds weren’t with me on this evening, but I hadn’t written off the possibility entirely either, and I kept my gear at hand just in case. Perhaps five minutes before sunset the first pink light appeared to the north on distant clouds and then began to faintly glow on the closer domes. Within in seconds the scene went from gray and flat light to this marvel of warm reddish tones. I photographed rapidly for perhaps five minutes or less… and then it was gone.

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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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Lake, Cloud Shadows, Reflection

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Alpine Lake, Cloud Shadows, Reflection
The talus slopes on a Sierra crest ridge, mottled with cloud shadows, is reflected in the surface of an alpine lake.

Alpine Lake, Cloud Shadows, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The talus slopes on a Sierra crest ridge, mottled with cloud shadows, is reflected in the surface of an alpine lake.

This is an interesting place. I’ve visited quite a few times in the past, and in varying conditions of light, season, and weather. My first visit was quite a few years back, when a friend an I backpacked into the area very late in the season, experiencing cold temperatures and early snowfall. When I visited last year it was early in the season following a year of record-setting precipitation, and at almost the same point in the season it was difficult to cross the snowfields along the route. Once I got there I could not cross the rushing torrent of the outlet stream. This year the hike was less challenging, and I encountered no snow at all.

This lake lies at the end of my planned hike on this visit. It is a moderate-sized subalpine lake that is surrounded mostly by rocky meadows and high, talus-covered mountain slopes. The first clouds of what would be afternoon thunderstorms were beginning to appear, and the wind rushed their shadows across the landscape. I made several exposures as the light changed, enjoying the kaleidoscope-like effect produced by the reflection in the surface of the lake.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Rock-Filled Tarn

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Rock-Filled Tarn
Tarn on Chagoopa Plateau

Rock-Filled Tarn. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tarn on Chagoopa Plateau

This photograph is a decade old, though it has sat in my raw file archive for that entire period. As we hiked through this area on a trans-Sierra pack trip via the High Sierra trail we crossed the edge of this remarkable seasonable lake, nearly filled with a pavement of broken rocks. The location is fairly remote — essentially more or less half way between the west-side sequoia groves and Mount Whitney on the east side.

When I originally looked at this file after the trip, something appealed to me about it but I could never quite figure out how to post-process it. (I won’t go into details here, but I was using an older version of digital photography technology, and the light was a bit unusual in this location.) I never did come up with a color rendition of the scene that pleased me. Finally, a decade later, it dawned on me that it might work as a monochrome image, both because of the strong shapes of the foreground rocks and because black and white permits more modification and control during the post-processing (what used to be called the darkroom) phase.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sierra Sunset Sky

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Sierra Sunset Sky
Dissipating thunderstorm clouds and summer Sierra Nevada sunset sky

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.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.