A few clouds drifted east from the Sierra crest and held together long enough to occupy the sky above Mono Lake at sunset. The long shadow of the Sierra stretched across the foreground shoreline and tufa formations, and in the distance the earth’s shadow is visible above basin and range mountains.
Continue reading Mono Lake, Earth Shadow, Clouds
Late in the afternoon I was photographing autumn aspen trees in a deep valley along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. Not long after I arrived there developing clouds began to block the light that best shows the intense colors of the trees. I continued working and found ways to photograph effectively in the soft light, but I was a bit disappointed by the cloud cover. And then it occurred to me that the cloud line would end as they dissipated out over Mono Lake.
Continue reading Evening Clouds, Mono Lake
Photographing in the morning and evening twilight can be a bit of a crapshoot. The light can be soft yet intensely colorful… or it can simply fade away to gray. Familiarity with the patterns of clouds and light can improve the odds, but you still have to head out there and take advantage of whatever happens. That was my plan on this late-August evening when thin clouds stretched across the sky, presenting the possibility of colorful light.
Continue reading Tuolumne River, Dusk
This is another “quiet” photograph — no brilliant colors, not really an iconic location. It simply captures, I hope, something of the feeling of being in the High Sierra as the day winds down, the light warms as sunset approaches, and begin to stretch across the landscape. It is a beautiful time of day — everything slows down, it gets quieter as people go to camp for dinner.
Continue reading Subalpine Meadow, Evening Light