Tag Archives: clouds

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

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest

Leave a comment
Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest
“Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest” — Lenticular cloud-filled twilight sky above Tuolumne Meadows and, Tuolumne River, Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs.

Yes, one more in the series – perhaps the final one, but we’ll see. I suppose it could be titled, “It ain’t over until it’s over.”

After the astonishing colors of the brightest moments of the sunset fade, one might think that the show is over – but often it isn’t quite done. I remember the time I first learned the value of sticking around until it is too dark to photograph any more. This “lesson” happened a bit further west in Tuolumne Meadows many years ago. I was photographing in the evening, shooting across a transitory early-season lake. Another nearby photographer was photographing the same beautiful evening, and he pointed out that some of his favorite photographs actually came after the intense light of sunset and during the time when the light almost begins to feel more like night than day.

Two wonderful things can happen at this hour. First, you may witness unexpected “color surprises” even after the show seems to be over. (I learned this a second time a few years later after packing up at the summit of Lembert Dome and heading down – only to be surprised by a wonderful and completely unexpected suffusion of beautiful light, and having to quickly unpack to squeeze off a couple of exposures.) Second, as astonishing as the earlier brilliant colors are, this is the time for some wonderfully deep and subtle colors that you just won’t see at any other time of day.

COMMENT OR QUESTION? Scroll down to the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.


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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

Leave a comment
Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise light on the ruins of the bank building and other old structures in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada with the Amargosa Range and snow-covered Telescope Peak beyond in Death Valley National Park, California.

I was very lucky to get almost (more on that in a moment) perfect conditions for photographing the ruins of Rhyolite, Nevada when I visited there at dawn on April 1 this year. I’ve visited twice, and both times high thin clouds were in the sky before sunrise. On the previous trip the clouds interfered with the sunrise light, but time beautiful warm light came beneath the clouds right at a dawn and washed the old ghost town with color. Better yet, this same light also illuminated the Amargosa Range across the valley and even snow-capped Telescope peak, the highest point in Death Valley National Park at over 11,000′ elevation. And there is more – the high clouds added a slightly dark texture to the early morning sky. There were only two of us there to witness this beautiful morning at Rhyollite – and I regret not getting the name of the other photographer. (I think he may live in the area. He started out shooting a Nikon SLR system and soon moved to a MF system. I’d love to see the photos he got of this scene!) So, what made it almost perfect as opposed to just plain perfect? In a word, “wind.” The wind was howling on this morning, to the point that camera shake was an issue even on the tripod!

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sunrise, dawn, rhyolite, nevada, ghost town, ruins, bank, building, wall, tower, brick, door, window, rock, wall, abandoned, amargosa, range, mountains, desert, valley, panamint, telescope, peak, snow, capped, sky, clouds, blue, gully, light, death valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, travel, scenic, historic, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

1 Comment
Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light. San Francisco, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early mornng sun breaks through clouds over San Francisco Bay and illuminates the water to silhouette Alcatraz Island.

This weekend I visited Muir Woods again. I was on the road early enough to arrive at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge by dawn. Even if I am headed somewhere else, I almost always stop at the north end to see what sort of light is shining on the City and the bay – and this morning low clouds from an incoming weather system were sweeping across the bay as sunlight broke through intermittently to light the water on the bay. Before heading on to Muir Woods I made a series of photographs of this light, including this one of Alcatraz.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: san francisco, bay, california, usa, water, alcatraz, island, prison, park, historic, oakland, treasure island, bridge, golden, light, clouds, beams, silhouette, tower, building, travel, historic, area, storm, birds, landscape, scenic, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Panamint Range, Light Beams

Leave a comment
Panamint Range, Light Beams

Panamint Range, Light Beams. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light beams over the Panamint Range beyond the salt flats, Death Valley National Park, California.

Last April (2008) I was in DV for few days to photograph all around the area. One afternoon my brother and I drove to the south with a plan of photographing the salt formations near Badwater in the late afternoon and early evening light. As we got there we saw these tremendous light beams (a.k.a. “God Light”) coming through the clouds that had gathered over the ridge of the Panamint range to the west, and illuminating the arroyos along the east side of the range and occasionally the valley floor in the distance.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: salt, flats, death, valley, national park, playa, light, beams, god light, panamint, mountains, range, telescope, peak, ridge, atmospheric recession, clouds, sun, light, snow, arroyo, wash, sky, scenic, travel, landscape, stock