Tag Archives: fog

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

After the Storm — Tuolumne Sunset

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After the Storm — Tuolumne Sunset
“After the Storm — Tuolumne Sunset” — Sun comes out after a summer storm in the Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra.

Decades ago I started visiting places like this when I was very young. (My first visit to Tuolumne Meadows was almost certainly before I was 10 years old.) In my “early mountain years” — which I think of as roughly the first three decades — it was all about discovery. I went to places I had not been before, saw new sights, experienced things for the first time. Everything was new… which, of course, was kind of the point. But now, a few more decades along life’s path, I see these places differently. To a great extent they are old friends whose acquaintance I renew on each visit.

There are three high points in this photograph — Lembert and Dog Domes in the foreground and the distant summit of Mount Dana at over 13,000’. I’ve stood on all of them. Today they are no longer romantic new objectives, but rather familiar places that are part of my Sierra world. Yet somehow, I still find ways to see something new in them every time I visit.

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

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

Blue Hour: Lake and Fog

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Blue Hour: Lake and Fog
“Blue Hour: Lake and Fog” — Dusk fog rises from the surface of a subalpine lake reflecting a Sierra crest peak.

I had thought that I was done photographing for the evening when I passed this little lake and saw the fog rising in dusk light. The light was fading fast, so I quickly got out my tripod and set up for some relatively long exposures — this one was 15 seconds. The conditions arose after an afternoon and evening of rain ended and the skies began to clear, allowing fog to appear here and at every other similar body of water.

Photographs in these conditions — essentially twilight — test our understanding of what it means for a photograph to be “realistic.” The truth is that our eyes don’t see like this in extremely low light — so what you get here is a sort of “what the camera saw” image. (The eyes also do not interpolate drifting fog over a 15 second period!)

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

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

After the Storm, Mt. Gibbs

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After the Storm, Mt. Gibbs
“After the Storm, Mt. Gibbs” — Evening light comes to Mt. Gibbs and Tuolumne Meadows as an afternoon storm clears.

I have learned that sometimes the light arrives when you don’t expect it. The day had unexpectedly turned stormy, and to my surprise it rained for hours, continuing past the time when Sierra afternoon thunderstorms typically dissipate. I wondered if it would clear at all, but I headed into the Tuolumne area anyway, thinking that I’d surely want to be there if the light did arrive. And it did! Right around sunset the clouds to the west thinned and beams of light played across the landscape.

One of the biggest surprises when I entered the park late on this afternoon was that a significant hail storm had apparently moved through earlier, dropping so much hail that from a distance it looked like fresh snowfall on Mt. Gibbs.

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

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist

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Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist
“Meadow, Mountains, Morning Mist” — Morning mist rises from a subalpine meadow with trees in the foreground and peaks in the distance.

For a few days in early July I had this usually-crowded Yosemite location almost to myself. The nearby high-country campground was not yet open, and entry-restrictions to the park reduced the number of visitors. I camped just outside the park’s boundaries, and I entered in the mornings before sunrise — there was no line and I could get to my destinations quickly. On a couple of mornings the sunrise destination was this great subalpine meadow.

The meadow runs from east to west, so sunrise and sunset tend to send light down its length. I positioned myself near the west end on this morning, which meant that I was shooting nearly directly into that morning light. Here I placed a group of trees along the right side of the frame, to contrast the dark forms of their trunks and shadows with the lighter distant mountains, details muted by backlit haze.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)