Tag Archives: clear

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm Clouds

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Clearing Storm Clouds
Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Clearing Storm Clouds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Perhaps the most interesting skies are associated with transitions from one kind of weather to another. This includes not only the arrival of storms but also their departure. If the storm has been large and long, the first hints of its passage bring a feeling of home and light. Thinner areas appear in the cloud cover, in some places the sky becomes more blue than gray, perhaps a bit of sunlight shines through. The storm usually doesn’t depart all at once — more likely in fits and starts as lingering clouds move in and out.

After more than 24 hours of mostly rain, some of it heavy, the clearing finally began in the very late afternoon of the second day of our Sierra backcountry visit. At first we mostly just noticed that the rain had stopped, even though the clouds were thick and gray. We left our tents and wandered out to overlooks, hoping to make some photographs. Gradually the clouds rose higher, and gaps began to appear. Soon a bit of light came over the ridge to our west and the clouds over the lowlands to the east began to break up, revealing blue sky.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Mist in the Trees

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Mist in the Trees
Mist drifts among Eastern Sierra trees as a summer storm clears.

Mist in the Trees. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Mist drifts among Eastern Sierra trees as a summer storm clears.

One this evening the storm finally cleared. Over the course of an hour or two the higher clouds thinned, and some promising light began to glow high above. I watched from an elevated rocky position as peaks began to appear intermittently and clouds of fog flowed back and forth across the landscape.

The fog seemed to be the result of the abundant atmospheric moisture from the rains of the past two days. At times it almost obscured all of the landscape that was above my position, but soon a breeze would push it this way and that, and trees and rocks and ridges were revealed. I was especially interested in mist drifting among trees just above me, and I photographed this bit of forest as the fog begin to thin again.

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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Commentary

Clearing Storm, Evening

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Clearing Storm, Evening
Summer thunder storm clouds clear at sunset above the Sierra Nevada crest, Yosemite National Park.

Clearing Storm, Evening. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Summer thunder storm clouds clear at sunset above the Sierra Nevada crest, Yosemite National Park.

Photographic prospects seem to be distributed across a sort of bell curve. Most of the time the opportunities are fine and interesting, and it is possible to make decent photographs from what you find. Occasionally I find myself at one of the sharp ends of the curve. When at the end where nothing much seems to be happening, I remind myself that I’m storing up karma for those moments when the opposite happens. And if you are out there enough, these unbelievable moments will happen from time to time — and they are enough to keep you coming back.

This was a truly memorable evening that provided an embarrassment of visual riches. Soon after this trip, I came up with a series of four photographs in landscape orientation that traced the astonishing evolution of the light from late afternoon through dusk. Four seemed like plenty at the time, so I left the rest behind — some of which would normally have been keepers. This is one of those, made when I briefly shifted the camera to portrait orientation.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Fog and Morning Light

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Fog and Morning Light
Tule fog covers a Pacific Flyway wetlands pond as morning sun begins to break through high clouds.

Fog and Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tule fog covers a Pacific Flyway wetlands pond as morning sun begins to break through high clouds.

This was one of the foggier mornings I’ve spent out along the Pacific Flyway, and that wasn’t the only unusual thing about the weather. Driving out here hours before dawn, most of the route was clear of any fog. But when I turned off the highway onto a narrow country road the fog was instantly so thick I could barely see to drive. As I continued it varied, sometimes thinning a bit, but always shallow enough that I could look up and see the setting full moon. I arrived at my destination if foggy darkness and headed out to make photographs.

On a typical morning, even when it is quite foggy, the light changes when sunrise colors arrive a one the fog. But high clouds kept this morning kept the light at bay and it remained gray. Eventually the tule fog thinned enough in a few spots that the higher clouds occasionally became visible for a moment, and weak sunlight sometimes made it though the murk. I made this quiet photograph during one of those moments when the fog began to glow just a bit.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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