Tag Archives: light

Wildfire Smoke, Early Morning

October 14, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

layers of thick wildfire smoke obscure the morning light

This was the culmination of more than twelve hours of observation of a developing wildfire located east of the Sierra Nevada, roughly between Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes. The previous evening I finished a hike into the Sierra backcountry not far from Tioga Pass, returning to my car well after sunset. As I drove back down Lee Vining Canyon in the near-darkness I saw a big tower of smoke to the southeast and the tell-tale glow of fire on the bottom of the cloud. The next morning I woke up and headed straight back toward Mono Lake, from which I figured I could photograph conditions related to the fire.

I began photographing Mono Lake itself, where the lake was still mostly visible with only a few thin smoke clouds floating over it. But very soon this changed as winds brought the smoke right over Mono Lake, casting a pall over the scene all the way up to Conway Summit. My goal was to head south along the eastern escarpment, but as I did so the smoke only became thicker. I made this photograph at a point closer to the fire, where the smoke was very, very thick, enough so to take away most of the sunlight and add a post-apocalyptic quality to the scene.

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

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

Evening Shadows, Sierra Crest

October 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mountain shadows on the Sierra Crest at sunset, Yosemite National Park

Earlier I had photographed in the large meadows along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne, just below Tioga Pass, continuing to work until the sun dropped behind the long and tall ridge to the west. As I walked back toward my vehicle through the soft light of the shadows, the surrounding peaks were still in full sun. I started thinking about putting a very long lens on the camera and photographing the last light when if finally got to these peaks and ridges.

It took a while! This meadow area loses the light early, so even though I lingered there after the direct sun was gone, I still had quite a while to wait before sunset. The intense coloration of the arctic zone peaks comes from two sources. This section of the Sierra is topped by much older rocks — not granite but very reddish-brownish rocks. By the time I made this photograph the sun was very close to the horizon and the color of the light had warmed considerable, adding even more intense color to the rocks. (Inspecting the image file very closely I learned something new — there is a faint trail traversing the upper slopes of the ridge at the left!)

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

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

Glaciated Terrain

October 6, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees in morning light on a glaciated dome, back by an immense fractured granite face, Yosemite National Park

I’m often out before the first light and then again as the last sunlight turns to dusk. These are not the only times of day worth photographing, but they are times that often produce beautiful light and colors and effects, with warm light and dramatic shadows. Many times — even during the busiest times of the year — I have stood it some of the most impressive locations and witnesses the most astonishing light… almost alone. I don’t know whether to encourage everyone to get up early and stay out late or to perhaps just keep relatively quiet and enjoy the solitude! I sometimes wonder how different our ideas of the Sierra are, depending upon when we are out and about as more or more than where we go.

In a spot like this one, the arrival of morning light is a highly dynamic thing — not at all a static or even slow-moving event. For example, here the light is raking across the foreground granite slab the tilts down from left to right, at the angle of the light is only briefly ideal to light the trees without also lighting the granite. The whole transition from first light on tree tops to a bit too much on the granite might take little more than a minute.

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Escalator, Windows

October 1, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Afternoon light from nearby windows on an escalator, the Louvre

We spent the better part of a day during our recent Paris visit at the Louvre. Anyone who has been there knows that a day is far from sufficient time to really see the place and the art that is housed there. We managed one full floor of one (of three) wings and a bit of one or two other areas. Clearly we have no choice but to return to Paris!

It is no secret that I, like lots of other photographs, am entranced by geometric shapes, effects of light, angles, and juxtapositions. Sometimes there is time to see these things and carefully consider how best to photograph them, but sometimes we don’t have the luxury. In this case, I had very little time, as the view is from a moving escalator! Fortunately, I had my camera in hand as we rode down to a lower level, so I was able to quickly raise the camera and make a few quick exposures of this view as it evolved and rolled past.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Wildfire Smoke, Early Morning

Evening Shadows, Sierra Crest

Glaciated Terrain

Escalator, Windows

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.