Tag Archives: sunset

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

Sierra Sunset Sky

July 19, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

The Last Light

July 15, 2018 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A final and unexpected bit of sunset color over the Sierra Nevada crest at Tuolumne Meadows

I could probably write a chapter on topics related to this photograph and the circumstances of making it. But I promise to keep this to a couple of paragraphs… at least for now. Earlier on this day I thought that I might make an evening visit to this high point in the Tuolumne Meadows area. As I ascended the conditions were far from promising — thunderstorms and light rain were falling to the east and the cloud shield extended far enough west to cut off the light. It was one of those occasions when I was ready to simply enjoy being in the place and perhaps not bother to photograph. There was one other photographer in this location and since there wasn’t much to photograph we spend some time in casual conversation, largely about the less than exciting light. There was a lighter area far to the west, but it appeared to be too far north of the setting sun to send much light our direction.

As we talked I mentioned a specific condition that can quickly (and often quite briefly) turn very boring light into something miraculous. If the cloud shield ends far to the west (or in the east at sunrise) there may be a narrow gap between the edge of the clouds and the horizon. If so, as the sun nears the horizon there can be a short burst of intensely colorful light. Any time I’m in a situation like the one on this evening, I look for signs of that horizon light… and if they are present I stay. That’s what I did on this evening, and I set up my camera with a lens selected for my guess at what the scene might do. With 5-10 minutes to go before sunset the sky was still murky and gray, and it appeared that my patience might not be rewarded. Then I noticed some pink in clouds far to the north. In a matter of second a soft reddish glow appeared at the summit of the large granite dome, and almost instantly the light came up on the peaks as a beam passed across the forest in the foreground. For the next 3-5 minutes the entire scene was a miracle of colorful light… until the sun dropped below the horizon and the red was gone.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese and Pond, Sunset

July 1, 2018 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Snow geese and Ross’s geese on a small island in a wetland pond

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we expect temperatures as high as 100 degrees in inland areas. Summer is here, and with a vengeance. I like summer — long daylight hours, little need to worry about that warm jacket, and more — but it is not my favorite season. I prefer the shortening days and golden colors of fall, the interesting weather and light of winter, and the reawakening of spring, to be honest. In other words, with this photograph I am engaging in a bit of nostalgia for the past winter and a bit of expectation of the seasons that follow the one in which we now find ourselves.

While we might think of winter as being a time of less life and growth — which is surely true in most places when it comes to vegetation — the annual migration of birds inclines in the opposite direction. At the time of year when days are short, weather is cold, and growing things are in decline… the birds show up again. I photographed these birds on a late-autumn evening in early December, when trees were still shedding fall leaves and the birds were just beginning to return along the Pacific flyway.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks, Cliffs, Sunset

June 14, 2018 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and beach reflecting the light of a Northern California Pacific Ocean sunset

This photograph illustrates — as do so many others! — the many situations in which a photograph is the result of some combination of planning, experience, patience, “seeing,” and just plain good luck. In the morning I had photographed a few hours north of here at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. As I worked that area, in the back of my mind I was calculating the driving time (plus eating and photographing time) that would put me at a particular spot along the coastline above Fort Bragg a bit before sunset. It is a spot that I have photographed before and one that both challenges and appeals to me. I knew the features of the spot, but there was no way to know what the conditions might be — in fact, I thought there was a pretty good chance that it might be fogged in.

As I approached this area, passing through inland mountains, it was apparent that fog was going to be an issue. Even inland the coastal fog was obscuring the upper slopes. Arriving at the coast I found “blah,” gray light. But there I was, knowing that this would be my last stop of the day, so I thought I might make something work in black and white. Then I noticed something interesting — the fog bank ended in the distance to the northwest right along the coastline, and right along the horizon there was a thin band of glowing, reflecting water. It occurred to me that this thin band would likely expand toward my position as the sun dropped toward the horizon, and that there could be a short period of special light. Before long the glow on the water came closer and the nearby waves began to pick up some sunset color. Then, as the bottom of the sun started to emerge below the edge of the cloud shield, the mist began to glow and the sun’s light came directly at me between the shadows of sea stacks, something can happen only for a few days during a brief interval or two each year… and only on days when the coastal weather conditions permit it.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sunset

Sierra Sunset Sky

The Last Light

Geese and Pond, Sunset

Sea Stacks, Cliffs, Sunset

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.