Tag Archives: red

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Sunset Storm, Mono Lake

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Sunset Storm, Mono Lake
“Sunset Storm, Mono Lake” — An evening storm moves over Mono Lake at sunset.

Occasionally nature throws some light at me that seems just plain unreal — effects so unusual that even I start to doubt what I saw. Often this happens at sunset or sunrise when the conditions align just right, as they did on this evening. It had been cloudy and raining, and there was still moisture in the air as the clouds began to break up in the north and west. As that happened, colorful sunset light came in over the Sierra crest and illuminated the clouds from within.

I had anticipated that something interesting might happen on this evening, but this intensely colorful light took me by surprise. In the photograph we look at and across Mono Lake from a high point to the southwest of the lake, right into the brilliantly colored clouds to the north.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Desert Autumn Aspens

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High Desert Autumn Aspens
“High Desert Autumn Aspens” — Autumn aspen trees along a high desert creek descending from the Sierra Nevada.

This is a bit of a different sort of aspen photograph from me — not the first one like it but there aren’t many others. After photographing at another location at sunrise I packed up and went exploring in the foothills below the eastern escarpment of the range. (The base of the range is visible at the top of the frame.) This area feels less like “the mountains” and more like high desert. It is less steep, drier, and covered with what we sometimes refer to as sagebrush country.

I made this photograph in direct sunlight and the trees are not even backlit. The light comes from the side, and that does highlight the color of the leaves a bit, but this is closer to what aspen trees look like in “normal” light. This little line of trees grows along the course of a small stream that comes from much higher up in the mountains. The little stream brings just enough moisture to this dry area to support the trees and other plants.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Gully, Morning Light

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Gully, Morning Light
“Gully, Morning Light” — A gully with a dusting of autumn snow is reddish in early morning light, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

While camped in the Sierra near the eastern border of Yosemite National Park during the early fall season, I decided to head down to Lee Vining and then turn south. My plan was to do some early morning photography along the base of the Sierra where the mountains begin to rise toward the crest and the boundary of the park. I made this photograph shortly after sunrise as the morning light worked its way down the escarpment.

The intense coloration of the rocky face is from a combination of warm colored rocks and very warm colored morning light. With the exception of a permanent snow field near the top edge, the rest of the white stuff in the photograph came from an early storm that had passed through the area the day before, leaving the sort of dusting that reminds us that winter is coming.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Before Dawn

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Mono Lake, Before Dawn
“Mono Lake, Before Dawn” — Colorful pre-dawn clouds over Mono Lake.

This photograph may look very similar to a previously shared Mono Lake photo — both feature the reflecting surface of the lake and a colorful sky. But they are quite different images, photographed from very different places and at different times of the day. The other one was from an evening when afternoon thunderstorm clouds were dissipating. This one is from just before dawn on a hazy morning with high clouds illuminated by the colorful pre-dawn sky.

While that previous photograph was made right on the shoreline of the lake, this one used a more distant camera position. I had headed up into the Eastern Sierra foothills to search for aspen color, and I was exploring some less-used gravel backroads. This higher perspective allowed me to include more of the lake. (It is hard to see, but it extends far beyond the nearer portion that reflects the colorful sky.).

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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