Tag Archives: stormy

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Basin Mountain, Mount Humphreys, Dawn

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Dawn light on a stormy morning above Basin Mountain, Mount Humphreys and the Sierra Nevada crest

Basin Mountain, Mount Humphreys, Dawn. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright 2009 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn light on a stormy morning above Basin Mountain, Mount Humphreys and the Sierra Nevada crest

Let’s welcome the New Year with a sunrise photograph! Happy New Year 2015! I made the photograph a bit more than five years ago, during a fall trip to the Eastern Sierra to photograph autumn colors. I made a series of similar photographs on this morning, at least one of which I have shared in the past. However, as I worked my way though a decade’s worth of old raw files during the past few weeks, I came on this one and felt that it could work will in the panoramic presentation seen here.

As I recall, on that morning I had awakened at my camp higher up in the mountains, planning to head further up the canyon before daybreak to photograph high elevation aspen trees. However, the light did not look promising, as it was quite overcast. I realized that it was one of those mornings when there was a chance for a special lighting condition that occurs when it is clear far to the east, and right at sunrise a narrow band of light breaks under the clouds and sends a line of light across the eastern face of the Sierra, light that works its way down from top to bottom as the sun comes up. So I quickly changed plans and headed the opposite direction and out into the “Buttermilk Country” below the Sierra, arriving just in time to find this beautiful light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fin Dome, Storm Clouds

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Fin Dome, Storm Clouds
Fin Dome, Storm Clouds

Fin Dome, Storm Clouds. Kings Canyon National Park, California. September 14, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Last rays of sunset light illuminate the fractured summit of Fin Dome and the Sierra crest on a stormy late-summer evening

During a week of beautiful days in the King Canyon National Park High Sierra back-country, this may have been one of the most compelling. The day began with interesting clouds and light, eventually evolved into light showers mixed with sun shine, and as sunset approached it cleared enough to give us rainbows, dramatically dark storm clouds, and golden hour light on the surrounding upper peaks.

This dome is a familiar landmark for many who pass along a section of the John Muir Trail not far from where we photographing, though that familiar view shows the opposite side of this feature. Although I was very close to it during the many days we spent photographing here, the face of the dome was often no all that photogenic. During the day the flat light did not complement it, and it is difficult to see how to compose an effective image of the thing from very close and right below it. However, on this evening we had wandered off to another location not far away, where there were many lakes and ponds, beautiful small meadows and granite formations, and more expansive views of the surrounding landscape. Shortly after we arrived there it began to sprinkle on us and we could see heavier showers distributed around the wider terrain. As sunset approached, the clouds thinned a bit over our position and the sun began to occasionally slant in from the west below the clouds, casting light beams that traversed the landscape to our east. I missed a few moments of beautiful light on this dome before I finally realized that this was a situation likely to repeat itself – and I stopped and waited for the next illumination from the west to arrive, here contrasting the warm sunlight on the peak with the darker storm clouds further to the east.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.