Glacial Erratics, Cathedral Range. Yosemite National Park, California. September 4, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on glacial erratics, domes, and the Cathedral Range

The first time I ascended this system of granite slabs to its high point was in the morning, and my goal was to shoot the opposite direction from the scene shown here, so that I could capture the backlight on trees ascending from the ridge toward a higher valley to the east. While up here it became apparent that this spot had potential beyond just that of trees in morning light, and I made several more visits during out stay here.

On this evening I thought I would find out what late-day light possibilities might exist. My initial idea was to arrive soon enough to shoot down the slabs into an open forest of lodgepole pines that seemed like it might catch evening backlight in interesting ways. I arrived at a spot from which I thought such a shot was possible, but it seemed a bit too early for ideal light, and I continued on up the granite rib to a higher point. The atmosphere and light were a bit tricky. At this time of year it is very common to see a bit of wildfire smoke in the air, and that was the case on this evening. In addition, there were some high clouds far to the west and seemed likely to mute the last light. In fact, just as I initially set up this shot the light quickly faded, as if someone had turned down the dimmer switch on a lighting system! At first I was disappointed, but when I looked to the west to see the clouds that blocked the light I could see that there was a gap below the clouds through which the sun would likely shine once more before sunset. So I waited. Perhaps five or ten minutes later the light began to change silently (somehow it always seems a bit odd that only the light changes at those moments) and I managed to shoot through the transition from dark to full light and make one exposure when the light had come back on both the near features and the distant ridge.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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