Tag Archives: storm

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees, Drifting Fog

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Trees, Drifting Fog
Fog from a clearing storm drifts among backcountry Sierra Nevada trees growing on rocky ledges.

Trees, Drifting Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Fog from a clearing storm drifts among backcountry Sierra Nevada trees growing on rocky ledges.

This evening marked the end of a 24 hour bout of pretty challenging backcountry weather during our August photography trip in the Eastern Sierra. We had no more set up our tents at our base camp when the skies unleashed hours of the heaviest rain I have ever experience in the Sierra backcountry. Later that evening it decreased enough that we could come out of our tents, recover some gear that had been left out in the deluge, fix dinner, and crawl back into our tents. We thought it was over, but very early in the morning it started again, though this time not nearly as heavy, and continued on into the next day. Finally, on the second evening, the weather started to break.

On this second evening we all headed out to find suitable photographic subjects. The clouds were slowly thinning, and the surrounding peaks starting to show through. Eventually we got a bit of last-minute sunset light that created utterly beautiful cloudscapes and colorful mountains. But first, I set up on top of a rocky outcropping and watched fog drift across this rocky slope, making the trees drift in and out of sight as the clouds washed back and forth.

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: Sierra Nevada

The Storm Ends

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The Storm Ends — remnants of summer storm in the Ritter Range.
“The Storm Ends” — Sunset light on clouds as a summer monsoon storm clears above Sierra Nevada peaks.

Yes, I’m still working my way through the photographs from our August backcountry photography expedition in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. The process is often an extended one for me. Typically there are a few images that jump out at me immediately. Then I begin to work on photographs that I was less sure about initially but which grow on me as I consider them. Finally there are photographs like this one that, from the start, seemed interesting but which I knew would take additional effort to bring to a presentable state. In this case, the light was quite challenging and this version of the photograph required considerable post-processing to get it to where I feel that it reflects what I saw and felt that evening.

We had walked in to our basecamp location (with packers bringing much of our gear) the previous day. Almost immediately after our arrival a tremendous monsoonal summer storm unloaded on us, pinning us down in our tents for hours. The challenging weather continued, albeit in less dramatic form, over the next 24 hours. On the second evening the clouds began to break a bit and it seemed like the sky might be getting lighter beyond the ridge to our west. We all headed out to photograph the transition, and we were not disappointed! As the clearing continued, fog drifted among the peaks and the last of the day’s sun illuminated clouds with sunset light.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Mist in the Trees

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Mist in the Trees
Mist drifts among Eastern Sierra trees as a summer storm clears.

Mist in the Trees. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Mist drifts among Eastern Sierra trees as a summer storm clears.

One this evening the storm finally cleared. Over the course of an hour or two the higher clouds thinned, and some promising light began to glow high above. I watched from an elevated rocky position as peaks began to appear intermittently and clouds of fog flowed back and forth across the landscape.

The fog seemed to be the result of the abundant atmospheric moisture from the rains of the past two days. At times it almost obscured all of the landscape that was above my position, but soon a breeze would push it this way and that, and trees and rocks and ridges were revealed. I was especially interested in mist drifting among trees just above me, and I photographed this bit of forest as the fog begin to thin again.

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

Trees, Ridges, and Clearing Storm

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Trees, Ridges, and Clearing Storm
Mist floats among ridges as a Sierra summer storm clears.

Trees, Ridges, and Clearing Storm. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Mist floats among ridges as a Sierra summer storm clears.

This is (yet another) photograph from the evening when our two days of rainy weather finally broke. The rain stopped, the clouds thinned, openings appeared, and fog drifted back and forth among the peaks and ridges as sunset approached. I found a high, exposed place with a clear view of the surrounding terrain and settled in to photograph the show.

To our south the terrain rose toward higher lakes and then to a long and jagged high ridge. At first the view in this direction was obscured by fog and clouds, but as the evening wore on gaps appeared. At times the sky was briefly visible and the more distant peaks began to appear a bit 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, 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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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