Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Squall, South Tufa

August 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Thunderhead builds above Mono Lake — “Morning Squall, South Tufa” — The shoreline of Mono Lake as a morning squall drops rain over the Sierra Crest near Lee Vining, California.

This photograph is, in a number of ways, a sort of happy accident. I had been camped in the Tuolumne Meadows area for several days, photographing in that part of the Yosemite National Park Sierra Nevada high country. On the previous day I had been caught out on a hike in a surprise thunderstorm without rain gear, so I was very conscious of the weather. That evening it occurred to me that, given the approach of some monsoonal moisture and the already wet weather, it was possible that interesting clouds might form in the Mono Lake area the next morning.

That night I peered out of my tent from time to time to see if any clouds were interrupting the light of the full moon, thinking that this might be enough to get me to change my plans for morning photography and make the drive to Mono Lake. At one point a few clouds did dim the moon light, and a bit later a few showers came through. At this point I decided to get up earlier and drive to the lake.

I thought I got up early enough. However, as I drove down highway 395 south of Lee Vining I realized that I had miscalculated and that the sun was already hitting the clouds! I experienced a classic photographer’s dilemma – shoot what I see here now, or race on hoping to shoot the planned thing. I decided to stop and photograph the first light on the Sierra crest from 395 before heading on — but now my original plan for a pre-dawn visit to Mono was out the window. After finishing here I made my way to Mono just as the first sun was striking the lake. I quickly made it out to the shoreline and saw (how could anyone miss it!?) this giant cloud cell blowing up over the Sierra crest just north of Lee Vining.

This post was revised in April, 2025.

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.

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

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk, Brick Building, Hotel Sign

July 28, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of a street scene in San Francisco containing slanting sidewalk, brick and other buildings, and a hotel sign.

The geometric forms of this scene caught my attention as I walked up a street where many art students seem to hang out. The image is obviously full of all sorts of tall rectangles of varying sizes and colors, ranging from the small windows to the white column of the far building in the center to the bulky and dark form of the brick building on the right side of the frame. A couple of little elements also intrigued me: the juxtaposition of the parking meter and surrounding shadows and fire valves on the wall, and the parallel and slightly diagonal lines of the curb and the streetcar wires overhead.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

July 24, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The San Francisco Caltrain station, photographed through glass lobby windows.

I frequently ride Caltrain to the City to do street photography. (Getting there by train is far better for me than taking the car, mainly because I think I can do more effective photography of this sort when I’m working completely on foot and not dealing with the whole driving/parking thing.) In this photograph I liked the nearly empty glass-enclosed lobby area, lit by very diffused light under the early morning fog, and with the trains visible on the other side. The “All Stops Special” sign seems enigmatic when seen out of context.

By the way, as much as San Francisco residents love the sunny and warmer days that occasionally come to the City this time of year, for photography I much prefer at least some fog and cloudiness, especially when I try to shoot during the daytime hours.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

(Basic EXIF data is available by “mousing over” large images in blog posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

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

Thawing Ice, Sierra Nevada

July 23, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ice melts on the frozen surface of an alpine lake near the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park.

When I visited this lake very close to the Sierra Crest in the Yosemite back-country in late June, it was still completely covered with winter ice – though the thaw was well underway and the surface was a complex pattern of frozen sections and pools of water on top of the ice that reflected the sky, clouds, and surrounding mountains.

This photograph is a stitched panorama, created by combining two landscape mode photographs in the post-processing phase.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/640 second, stitched from two photographs

keywords: panorama, pattern, texture, reflection, gaylor, lake, basic, sky, cloud, shadow, frozen, water, alpine, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, crest, yosemite, national, park, tioga, pass, road, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, high, melt, thaw, ice, california, usa, north america, stock

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