Tag Archives: snow

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Sierra Nevada Sunset Clouds

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Clearing Sierra Nevada Sunset Clouds
Last sunset light on clearing storm clouds above the Sierra Nevada, photographed from a commercial airline flight

Clearing Sierra Nevada Sunset Clouds. Above the Sierra Nevada, California. July 7, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Last sunset light on clearing storm clouds above the Sierra Nevada, photographed from a commercial airline flight

We spent the past week in New York City, visiting family and hanging out and doing some photography. (More urban/street photography from the visit will be coming soon.) Our final day there started out with driving rain, but cleared it up in time for us to make our way to the Newark airport for our flight back to California. There were rumors that the storm front passing over the east coast might interfere with our flight, but we were airborne only a few minutes later than scheduled, though the pilot came on the address system to let us know that they had been given a much more southerly route to follow, due to storms further north, and that this might delay our expected 8:45 PM arrival by about 15 minutes or so.

Most people might regard that as a minor inconvenience, but I quickly calculated that this would probably put us right above the Sierra Nevada almost exactly at sunset, possibly providing some interesting opportunities for aerial landscape photography. An hour or so before landing the pilot again came on the system to announce that storms above the Sierra might call create some turbulence. Again, I thought that sounded fine as long as that meant great clouds. There must have been monsoon conditions, as there were already thick clouds well east of the range, and before long I could see a wall of very high storm clouds stretching along the length of the Sierra ahead of us. In fact, the clouds were high enough that they blocked the sun, and I began to doubt that anything photographically interesting would occur. Apparently the crew was looking for an opening through the clouds, since they soon turned a bit to the left/south, and I could see an opening ahead with colorful backlit clouds. As we passed to the south of the cloud wall — and I never could figure out exactly where we were above the range — the last light of the setting sun passed almost horizontally over these thinning clouds, producing brilliant colors and allowing a brief view of snow on the mountains below.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge

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Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge
A band of resilient trees growing on a snow-covered ledge at the base of a granite monolith

Monolith, Trees, Snowy Ledge. Yosemite National Park, California. February 25, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A band of resilient trees growing on a snow-covered ledge at the base of a granite monolith

By the time this photograph appears at my website and on social media, the snow at the base of this famous monolith should be long gone — having melted, flowed down in rivulets to join the rushing Merced River, crossed into California’s Central Valley, perhaps reached the San Francisco Bay, and even made it out into the Pacific Ocean.

These trees, growing on a narrow ledge at the base of one of Yosemite’s most famous and visible granite faces, always draw my attention. Their location is impressive, but so is the fact that they have managed to grow relatively straight and tall while located in a world of rock, most of which came from (and continues to come from!) weathering of the giant monolith above. Winter snows highlight their dark forms more clearly.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Cliff, Snow and Ice

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Cliff, Snow and Ice
Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

Cliff, Snow and Ice. Yosemite Valley, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

I made this photograph within the first few minutes after dawn and as the first light came over the Sierra to the east to touch the rim of Yosemite Valley near Glacier Point. The rugged cliff face below the summit was still in shadow, and it would remain that way for a long time, especially on a winter day like this one when the sun never rises very high in the sky. As I looked up at this view I thought back to a few times in the past when I’ve skied out to Glacier Point and looked down at the spot where I was standing on this morning.

This is a very rugged fact, crisscrossed by fractures and ledges in many places. On this morning some recent snow was still plastered to the rocks, and where water flowed from melting snow and then froze there were large patches of ice. In a few places the rock is red, I presume possibly from either some sort of seepage or perhaps from lichen. The tone of the scene is quite blue since the only light is from that gigantic blue light panel we call the 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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Cliff, Trees, Snow

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Cliff, Trees, Snow
A band of trees at the snowy base of the face of Half Dome

Cliff, Trees, Snow. Yosemite National Park, California. February 25, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A band of trees at the snowy base of the face of Half Dome

Very early on two late February mornings, I was up and out the door well before sunrise, walking though shallow snow and sub-twenty-degree air to a nearby meadow to photograph that start of the Yosemite Valley day. On both occasions, my main strategy was to look upwards toward the cliffs and use a long lens to pick out small scenes that might otherwise be missed in the immensity of the scene.

Eventually the sun came up and light broke over the upper rim of the Valley, gradually working its way down the steep walls, first on the north side and eventually on the south side where I was focusing my attention. But it would be a long time — probably noon at least — until the direct light made it to this spot at the base of Half Dome. The low contrast and blue tone of the light along with the banks of snow reinforces the frigid feeling of this scene, with a row of straight and tall trees managing to make a living on this ledge at the bottom of the giant face of the mountain.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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