Tag Archives: squall

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Mountains, Snow Squall

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Desert Mountains, Snow Squall
“Desert Mountains, Snow Squall” — A late-winter snow squall high in the Panamint Mountains.

On this mid-March morning I was heading for Furnace Creek in Death Valley. I had made a sunrise stop to photograph near the town of Trona before resuming my northward drive. The west side of the Panamint Mountains is visible along most of this route, and a snowstorm was winding down among the highest peaks, lending an alpine quality to the desert landscape.

The Panamint Mountains are tall, with the highest summer being Telescope Peak at 11,000 feet of elevation. (The summit is known for being a spot from which one can see both the lowest and highest points in the contiguous United States, respectively Badwater and Mt. Whitney.) It is pretty normal to see snow up there during the winter, though this time it seemed to descend a bit further down the slopes than usual.

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: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Squall and Wildflowers

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Spring Squall and Wildflowers
A squall moves across the distant landscape beyond a plain filled with spring wildflowers.

Spring Squall and Wildflowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A squall moves across the distant landscape beyond a plain filled with spring wildflowers.

Almost everything about this photograph is transitory, with the arguable exception of the distant hills and mountains. This is an extremely dry place for most of the year, but following wet winters it erupts into a remarkable show of wildflowers for a few weeks around the beginning of April. The rain and light in the photograph are more transitory than the flowers. It was a windy, post-storm day, with cloudbursts and cloud shadows racing across the landscape.

There’s always a bit of luck involved in landscape photography. We may like to imagine that we can control all of the elements that make a photograph of such subject, but our skill and knowledge merely improve the odds. In the end, we work with what we find. Another stroke of luck in this photograph: the passing cloudburst was in the direction of the afternoon sun, so it was lit from behind.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Aspens, Autumn Snow

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Aspens, Autumn Snow
A morning snow squall above a grove of autumn aspen trees, Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Autumn Snow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A morning snow squall above a grove of autumn aspen trees, Sierra Nevada.

Since it is now July, it seems about time to start dreaming of autumn color, right? I always start thinking of fall color at about this point in summer. I’m not sure if this is a reaction against the hot weather season or just my natural inclination to always feel that my favorite season is the one that is coming next. On a ninety-degree day here in my (relatively cool!) part of California, I have to say that these conditions look pretty appealing right about now!

If I recall correctly, I made this photograph on a morning when it seemed that the conditions were conspiring against me. I had arrived here very early, well before sunrise, and in the faint light I could see that the aspens were thick with colorful leaves. As I started to prepare in the near-darkness a sudden squall swept through — the wind suddenly picked up, the temperature dropped, it began snowing, and I retreated to my vehicle. As it began to clear I realized that perhaps half of the leaves had blown of the trees, but the new dusting of snow on the ridge was compensation.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Eastern Sierra Ridges, Rain

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Eastern Sierra Ridges, Rain
A passing squall drops rain on hills at the base of the Eastern Sierra

Eastern Sierra Ridges, Rain. Round Valley, California. October 4, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A passing squall drops rain on hills at the base of the Eastern Sierra

I first stopped here with a very different sort of photograph in mind. I pulled off US395 just north of Bishop in a spot where I knew I could overlook pastureland spotted with autumn color cottonwood trees and backed by the mighty eastern escarpment of the Sierra. But the weather was extremely changeable, and within minute a passing squall almost completely obliterated the view, leaving me looking mostly at a thick curtain of falling rain.

I waited a bit, hiding under the rear door of my vehicle with my tripod set up, and before long the conditions began to change again — I could see that the moisture-filled atmosphere was beginning to glow to the south where clouds were thinning and sun was illuminating the falling rain. As I watched, the distant low hills of the eastern Sierra gradually began to re-emerge. These conditions not only make the view opaque but they also desaturate the colors. Believe it or not… this minimalist landscape is a color photograph!

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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