Tag Archives: basin

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpenglow, Dissipating Thunderhead

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Alpenglow, Dissipating Thunderhead
“Alpenglow, Dissipating Thunderhead” — An afternoon thunderstorm dissipates above developing alpenglow on Sierra Nevada peaks and flower-filled meadow, John Muir Wilderness.

I remember this evening well. I’m not always sure why, but the details of certain specific days in the Sierra stick with me. As I recall, it was a quiet evening well into our weeklong stay near the lower end of this high basin. We were relaxed and enjoying the spectacle of large storms dissipating to our south as the evening approached.

These peaks and ridges and this meadow were our friends for that week, and we saw them in diverse conditions and light. Even though it was late summer, the wildflowers peaked near our arrival and were perhaps just beginning to fade. We viewed and photographed that ridge in morning and evening light, on days that were clear and when the view was obstructed by haze, clouds, or rain.

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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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Mono Lake, Dissipating Storm

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Mono Lake, Dissipating Storm
“Mono Lake, Dissipating Storm” — An evening thunderstorm dissipates above Mono Lake on an autumn evening.

It is well understood that some of the most interesting landscape photography light comes at the edges of the day, around sunrise or sunset. When things work out just right, Sierra Nevada weather conditions amplify this light. During the summer months afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon, and they often break up around sunset, allowing light from the west to dramatically illuminate and color the clouds.

I had been photographing in mixed light during the afternoon — sometimes it was clear, but at other times is was overcast. As the day moved toward sunset, I was passing along the west shore of Mono Lake as clouds dissipated and that western light turned the thinning storm clouds into a fiery cloudscape above the lake.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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: Sierra Nevada

Forest and Meadow, Evening

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Forest and Meadow, Evening
“Forest and Meadow, Evening” — Soft evening light on backcountry forest and meadows, Sierra Nevada.

One of the attractions of the Sierra backcountry is deep quiet, something that gets lost in all the attention paid to spectacular peaks, wild sunrises and sunsets, flowing water, and more. From the photographic perspective, this may partly be because it is easier to reflect those powerful subjects in a photograph — quiet photographs don’t demand our attention in the same way. This is one of the quiet photographs.

We were camped very close to this scene for about a week on a backcountry trip. Like virtually all photographers, we started our work at the beginning of our stay by heading out to photograph those peaks, wildflower-filled meadows, spectacular skies, and streams cascading over rocks and through meadows. But as we settled into the quiet daily routines of the backcountry we began to notice other things — like this scene with a few trees and bit of rocky meadow in the soft evening light.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Ridge, Evening

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Alpine Ridge, Evening
“Alpine Ridge, Evening” — Golden hour light glances across a shattered, rocky ridge, John Muir Wilderness

There is a common notion that landscape photography is a slow and deliberate activity, that we stand in front of a static landscape and carefully work out the right composition as the landscape awaits. This can happen, but the landscape is often quite dynamic, particularly when it comes to changing light. Beams of light between clouds can move across the scene, sunset light is ephemeral, rain showers can momentarily reveal or obscure features.

I made this photograph near our campsite on a lovely late-summer evening. It was during the last half of our weeklong stay, so we were settling in. As the day ended we were all wandering about looking for photographs. As the sun dropped to the west, deep shadows began to fill the great valley in front of us and then creep up the slopes. A last beam of light fell across the near ridge, and then was gone moments after I photographed it.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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