Tag Archives: dana

Tuolumne Meadows, Evening

Tuolumne Meadows, Evening

Tuolumne Meadows, Evening. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An evening with developing lenticular clouds above Mounts Dana and Gibbs, Lembert Dome, and Tuolumne Meadows – Yosemite National Park, California.

A friend or two who know about my “musical life” may appreciate the use of the term crescendo to describe the sequence of five photographs that begins with this one. I don’t want to give the story away in advance here, so you’ll need to check back over the next few days to see where this leads.

This photograph was made along the bank of the Tuolumne River not far from where the John Muir Trail crosses a bridge to the old Parson’s Lodge. When I made this photograph the sun was just about to drop behind the low ridges behind me at the west end of the Meadows, so here the forest and river are picking up the very last direct sun of the day.

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: yosemite, national, park, california, usa, sierra nevada, summer, tuolumne, tioga, develop, lenticular, cloud, river, meadow, bar, gravel, water, ripple, flow, rock, boulder, plant, grass, tree, forest, evening, afternoon, light, lembert, dome, mount, dana, gibbs, kuna, crest, mammoth, peak, reflection, mountains, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, stock, summit

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest
Light from lenticular cloud-filled twilight sky illuminates Tuolumne Meadows and the Tuolumne River with Lembert Dome, Mount Dana, and Mount Gibbs beyond, Yosemite National Park, California

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G DanMitchell – all rights reserved.

Light from lenticular cloud-filled twilight sky illuminates Tuolumne Meadows and the Tuolumne River with Lembert Dome, Mount Dana, and Mount Gibbs beyond, Yosemite National Park, California.

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 some 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.


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 | FacebookEmail

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


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