Tag Archives: storm

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

Forest, Dome, and Ridge

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Forest, Dome, and Ridge
Stormy evening view from Tuolumne Meadows, across forest and granite dome, to the Sierra crest

Forest, Dome, and Ridge. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stormy evening view from Tuolumne Meadows, across forest and granite dome, to the Sierra crest

This had been a challenging day for photography for the most part. While there was some good light in the early part of the day, later on the sky was covered by monsoonal clouds and building thunderstorms. It never really rained much where I was, but the potential was there and it did rain not far away. Thunderstorm photography can be exciting, especially if you are in a position where you can see the tops of the clouds… but down below, if the sky is completely overcast, the light can become blah and gray.

But there is always a hope that evening will bring a break-up of the clouds and even allow in some sunset light. By the time I made this photograph that process was already starting. The uniform cloud ceiling had begun to break up, with openings to blue sky here and there, and an occasional beam of light moved over the landscape. Here the light from the west, shining in beneath the clouds, illuminated the foreground meadow and the gigantic forests winding up the slopes toward granite peaks further away.

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

Sunset Storm Light

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Sunset Storm Light
Clearing storm clouds at a final wash of sunset color above the Sierra crest near Tuolumne Meadows

Sunset Storm Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clearing storm clouds at a final wash of sunset color above the Sierra crest near Tuolumne Meadows

This is another photograph from my mid-July evening of miracle light — or, more accurately, my five minutes of miracle light! As I wrote earlier, I had ascended this high point in the Tuolumne Meadows area on an evening when the light was about as “blah” as it gets. There were weak thunderstorms floating around over the crest, but they were more gray and flat that electrical and exciting. And the cloud shield extended a good distance to the west, which meant that no western light was making its way in to live up the scene. But there I was, on top of a high and spectacular place with a remarkable panoramic view, so I was starting to settle in to simply enjoy the experience and perhaps not make photographs.

But… sometimes boring conditions can actual be precursors to sudden changes and even very special conditions. On overcast mountain evenings (and mornings) there may be a distant break in the clouds near the horizon, and if the setting (rising) sun passes through that space at the right moment a sudden beam of colorful light may illuminate the landscape with golden hour or pinkish light. I felt that the odds weren’t with me on this evening, but I hadn’t written off the possibility entirely either, and I kept my gear at hand just in case. Perhaps five minutes before sunset the first pink light appeared to the north on distant clouds and then began to faintly glow on the closer domes. Within in seconds the scene went from gray and flat light to this marvel of warm reddish tones. I photographed rapidly for perhaps five minutes or less… and then it was gone.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Sierra Sunset Sky

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Sierra Sunset Sky
Dissipating thunderstorm clouds and summer Sierra Nevada sunset sky

Sierra Sunset Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dissipating thunderstorm clouds and summer Sierra Nevada sunset sky

This was one of the later photographs in the quick series I made during the very last few minutes of this evening, on which gray and flat light suddenly morphed into a show of spectacular color for a few moments right at sunset. Clouds were thick above my position. There were some breaks to the west, but they appeared to be too far north to let direct light reach me or my surroundings. But, so far to the west as to be beyond my sight, there was apparently a shallow break between the distant edge of the cloud shield and the horizon. Moments before sunset this light came in under the clouds and suffused the landscape with color.

I worked quickly to make photographs of the intensely colorful light on mountain peaks along the Sierra crest and on nearer granite domes and spires. This light began to fade after just a few short minutes, so I turned my attention back to the west where the clouds were rapidly dissipating. Above two ridge lines, one of rock and one covered by forest trees, layers of clouds were arrayed against the colorful sky.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | 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

Oak in Winter

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Oak in Winter
Light snow covers a meadow and the branches of an oak tree during a spring storm, Yosemite Valley

Oak in Winter. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light snow covers a meadow and the branches of an oak tree during a spring storm, Yosemite Valley

I went back and forth on the question of whether this photograph should be black and white or color. When I made the photograph, in light snow flurries and soft and low light, there was hardly any color in the scene, and I imagined the “I might as well” go with monochrome. I toyed with the idea of doing a color rendition and leaving the viewer to figure out if it really was in color or not. Finally, I simply decided that color wasn’t a particularly important aspect of the image… and here you are.

The scene might be just a bit deceiving. It is clearly a winter-like scene (though photographed in early spring) with new fallen snow. However, a closer look reveals that the snow is quite light — perhaps no more than an inch or so — yet it is fresh enough to cling to branches and cover the ground. It was snowing lightly as I made the photograph, in fact.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | LinkedIn | Email

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