Tag Archives: drift

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

Morning Light On Wildfire Smoke

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Morning Light On Wildfire Smoke
Early morning light on wildfire smoke drifting among forest trees

Morning Light On Wildfire Smoke. Yosemite National Park, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light on wildfire smoke drifting among forest trees

For a day that I began with only a vague plan (photograph Glacier Point at dawn) that I managed to miss (distracted by dogwood trees), I ended up with quite a photographic haul before it was over. I have a very early morning photograph of a lovely forest scene with autumn colors, a series of photographs of beautiful and mysterious drifting smoke along Glacier Point Road, several photographs of the autumn scene in Yosemite Valley, and finally a small set of photographs of sunset light on snow-dusted granite along Tioga Pass Road. All told, it turned out to be a rather remarkable day!

The least expected subject also turned out to be the one that produced the largest number of photographs — the early morning wildfire smoke that had settled down in valleys and among the trees overnight. If I had arrived at Glacier Point when I originally planned I might have missed this in darkness. Yet again, I got lucky, and after a delay brought about by my inability to resist stopping to photograph another forest scene I arrived here at just the right moment. The air was still and the smoke was barely moving among the trees in this large valley below my location. I had a good long time to stand and take it in and then work the scene carefully, with photographs ranging from those including the full scene to others, like this one, that zeroed in on small elements of it. Several things attracted me about this particular scene: the beams of lighting the smoke drifting through the trees at the bottom of the frame, the zigzag pattern produced by forest and smoke, the tall and thin trees on the far ridge, and the bits of Yosemite granite domes barely visible in the distance through the smoke.

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

Wildfire, Forest, Early Morning

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Wildfire, Forest, Early Morning
Early morning smoke from a wildfire drifts through a Yosemite National Park forest

Wildfire, Forest, Early Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning smoke from a wildfire drifts through a Yosemite National Park forest

This is the second in what will almost certainly be a series of photographs I made of this wildfire in late October. The fire — the Empire Fire — started in the region south of Yosemite Valley, covering terrain ranging from the Bridal Veil Creek area to the broad valley east of Glacier Point Road, and in many places burning right along that driving route. At one point the road had been closed, but by the time of my visit it had reopened. The fire was not longer spreading rapidly, but was instead in that slow-burning phase that may actually be beneficial to Sierra forests.

I ended up here almost by accident. I originally planned to be at Glacier Point by dawn, but other photographic subjects distracted and ultimately delayed me. By the time I arrived here the sun had cleared the mountains of the Sierra crest and the light was reaching down into the valley. But the air was still on this morning and the smoke settled and drifted slowly among the trees and mountains. I found a position well above the smoke and spent almost an hour looking for the beauty in this scene, one that might initially conjure up thoughts of destruction, but which eventually does have a kind of stark beauty. As the morning continued, the wind began to gradually pick up, the smoke rose to and above my position (making breathing difficult) and eventually the smoke simply began to uniformly obscure the landscape — and I moved on.

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

Forest, Wildfire Smoke

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Forest, Wildfire Smoke
Smoke from the Empire Fire drifts among forest trees in the early morning

Forest, Wildfire Smoke. Yosemite National Park, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Smoke from the Empire Fire drifts among forest trees in the early morning

In late October I spent a few days photographing in and around Yosemite National Park. I was in the area for the opening reception for the last hurrah of this year’s Yosemite Renaissance Exhibit, which has been installed at Gallery Five in Oakhurst. I took advantage of the visit to photograph various autumn subjects including the (somewhat early this year) fall colors in Yosemite Valley. But I also photographed another Sierra Nevada fall subject that we often aren’t as easily attracted to, namely wildfire smoke.

Like most Americans brought up with Smokey The Bear, I used to think that wildfires were uniformly evil things. We are more enlightened today, and we now understand that fire is actually a healthy part of the forest ecosystem. (Some fires at not so healthy, such as some during recent years that have completely destroyed large areas of forest.) Periodic fire clears out underbrush and forest litter, doesn’t kill mature trees, and tends to prevent the truly dangerous fires may otherwise occur. While I understand this intellectually, it has been harder for me to begin to see wildfires as attractive photographic subjects. However, on this morning, it was a bit easier! I had decided to get up early and head for Glacier Point at dawn — but I was soon distracted by an opportunity to photograph autumn dogwood trees. By the time I finished that I knew that I wasn’t close to being on schedule for dawn at Glacier Point, but I decided to head that direction anyway. As the road turns toward Glacier Point and overlooks a vast expanse of Sierra to the east, the view of this valley filled with early morning smoke that

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.
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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin, Wildfire Smoke, Dawn

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Mono Basin, Wildfire Smoke, Dawn
Smoke layers from a nearby wildfire drift across Mono Basin at dawn

Mono Basin, Wildfire Smoke, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. September 17, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Smoke layers from a nearby wildfire drift across Mono Basin at dawn

Late summer and early fall are the wildfire season in California and especially in the areas around the Sierra Nevada. (That statement used to be more accurate than it is these days, as drought and anthropic climate change have now extended the fire season in the state.) Like most people who spend time in the outdoors I have complicated responses to wildfire. I hate to see forests and wild lands destroyed, especially by some of the recent super-hot fires that have done more serious damage. At the same time I fully understand that fire is a natural and even necessary component of the natural life in these areas. In recent years I have tried to find beauty alongside the destruction, and it has opened my eyes to seeing fire in different ways.

During my recent mid-September Sierra Nevada photography jaunt, mainly focused on visiting a few high places and scouting early aspen color, a very smoky fire broke out in the Owens River area. I first spotted in while driving down from Yosemite in the evening after a backcountry hike, and the next morning there was a big cloud of smoke over the lands southeast of Lee Vining. Mono Lake was still mostly clear, except at the south end, but beautiful layers of smoke were beginning to drift across the lake before and during sunrise, muting details and rendering more clearly some of the larger elements of the landscape. I moved around the lake and surrounding areas looking for vantage points for several hours, until eventually the smoke-filled Mono Basin so much that I decided to leave.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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