Tag Archives: sierra

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflected Granite Bench

July 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Soft light on a granite bench and its reflection in a wilderness lake, Kings Canyon National Park

It is hard to believe that three years have passed since this beautiful trip into the Kings Canyon National Park back-country. Four of us schlepped — or more correctly, were schlepped — into a beautiful spot off the main trails where we had the better part of a week to slowly take in beautiful alpine scenery and make photographs.

This was a base-camp photography trip, where we camped in one location and each day wandered out through the spectacular surroundings looking for photographs. Over the time we were there we conditions ranging from typical Sierra sun to rain and rainbows. I made this photograph not far from our camp, and at a time of day before the sun had risen high enough to shine direct light on us — so the water was still, the light was soft.

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

Forest and River, Evening

July 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light comes to the Tuolumne River and surrounding forest

A scene like this can be deceiving, at least when it comes to assumptions about how it might be photographed. It is a peaceful and tranquil scene, and that impression supports the idea that photographing such a subject might be a slow, contemplative, and measured process: explore slowly, consider compositions, set up the camera and fine tune, wait, then photograph.

Nothing could be further from the truth. At this time of day — unless one is photographing a subject that has been specifically planned and scheduled in advance — things happen with extraordinary speed, especially when it comes to the transitions of light. For example, the last light coming through the forest to strike the central tree lasted only moments. Knowing this, as soon as I saw it I photographed more or less instinctively, working quickly and hoping that I would have time before the light was gone— which it was only a moment later.

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

Twilight Clouds, Sierra Crest

July 20, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sierra Wave cloud above the Sierra Crest at dusk, Yosemite National Park

On an evening of suddenly stunning clouds, this was just about my final photograph. The event was the sort that I have learned to sometimes anticipate when the conditions are just right in the Sierra. Much earlier in the day I had noticed the edge of a high deck of clouds to the northeast, lined up very close to the crest. Such clouds can be examples of the Sierra Wave, a kind of line of clouds that forms above and along the crest, often producing amazing skies.

As I started out photographing in the meadow and worked my way toward its far end, I watched the double-deck wave cloud for developing form and color. Eventually it started to look like there was going to be the potential for a special show, so I headed back to the camera position of this photograph, where I expected to have a view that including the peaks of the Sierra crest, the foreground meadow, and the clouds themselves. Before long the sunset light lit the clouds in extremely intense colors. I continued photographing as the sun dropped below the horizon and the colors gradually became more subtle, as seen in this post-sunset photograph.

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

Sierra Wave, Mounts Dana and Gibbs

July 19, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening Sierra wave clouds build above Mounts Dana and Gibbs along the Sierra crest.

This is how the show began, though I had my suspicions much earlier in the afternoon. When conditions are right, a “Sierra wave” cloud formation can form along and just to the east of the Sierra Nevada crest. It can be a long, undulating cloud formation, sometimes with many stacked layers — think of lenticular clouds that are many tens of miles long. The clouds simply sit above the crest, unmoving (though subtly transitioning in form) for hours. They are very impressive in broad daylight, but in the evening when conditions are right they are lit by the last sun coming from far west of the range, and the colors can be quite nearly unbelievable.

I first saw some interesting potential clouds shortly after noon, and I began to keep an eye on them. As evening approached I thought that perhaps they might dissipate or dissolve enough that the shape would not be compelling, though some sunset color was certainly a possibility. I set out to photograph something else entirely, slowly wandering up to the far end of a subalpine meadow by myself and photographing for perhaps an hour and a half. At this point the clouds looked like they were starting to hold greater potential for something quite special, so with about 45 minutes remaining before sunset I began to head back to the western edge of the meadow, from which this view included the clouds, the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne Meadow, and the summits of Mounts Dana and Gibbs. If you are wondering if the color finally developed… stay tuned!

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sierra

Reflected Granite Bench

Forest and River, Evening

Twilight Clouds, Sierra Crest

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