Tag Archives: tuolumne

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Storm Cell Over Mount Dana, Sunset

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Storm Cell Over Mount Dana, Sunset
Storm Cell Over Mount Dana, Sunset

Storm Cell Over Mount Dana, Sunset. Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California. July 24, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An evening storm cell winds down over Mount Dana beyond Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is a wider view of a scene I photographed in late July on an evening when thunderstorm cells were floating around the Sierra Nevada crest east of Tuolumne Meadows. This cell had conveniently centered itself directly above and behind Mount Dana, the highest peak on this section of the crest right above Tioga Pass, and was dropping virga (rain that doesn’t make it to the ground) over the peak in the sunset light.

It seemed odd that I was the only photographer out in the meadow on this evening!

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: tuolumne, meadows, river, pool, reflection, grass, rock, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, forest, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, mount, dana, lembert, dome, storm, cloud, evening, cell, clouds, sunset, light, sky, virga, trees, travel, scenic, landscape, nature, tioga, pass, road, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tuolumne Meadows, Stormy Evening

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Tuolumne Meadows, Stormy Evening
Tuolumne Meadows, Stormy Evening

Tuolumne Meadows, Stormy Evening. Yosemite National Park, California. July 24, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening storm clouds over the Sierra crest beyond Tuolumne Meadows and Lembert Dome, Yosemite National Park, California.

Once I saw these clouds begin to gather above Mount Dana on the Sierra crest, I made it my goal to be in this particular spot along the banks of the Tuolumne River at sunset. Actually, I arrived and set up quite a bit before actual sunset, and I began shooting even a bit earlier than the time when this photograph was made. A large storm cell had parked itself over and just beyond 13,000’+ Mount Dana on the Sierra crest at Tioga Pass, and as the evening went on rain eventually began to fall from this cell.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, crest, tuolumne, meadows, river, lembert, dome, mount, gibbs, dana, dog, brush, tree, forest, reflection, storm, clouds, sunset, evening, three, trees, bank, shoreline, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, sunset, stock, mount, dana

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows

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Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows
Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows

Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 24, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset virga drops rain above the summit of Mount Dana and is reflected in a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River.

Earlier on this day I had been caught out without raingear, two hours out from the trailhead on the Sierra crest at Mono Pass, as the thunderstorms began. Apparently a change in the weather pattern had sneaked in without me noticing, and what started as a completely clear morning turned into an afternoon of thundershowers and quite a bit of rain in the Tuolumne region.

For a photographer, this can be good news. All too often, Sierra weather can be what seems like an interminable string of boring, perfect blue sky days. A bit of weather is often a lot more interesting.

Since it had rained all afternoon, I thought there might be a chance of interesting sunset colors if the clouds over the crest stuck around and the clouds to the west cleared enough to allow the light of the setting sun to shine in unimpeded. You almost never know for certain when it comes to these conditions – the best you can do is recognize when they might happen, and then be there to do your work if it happens. You’ll either get some great sunset color… or you’ll be left standing there wondering what happened.

Back in early June I had scouted this location that placed the group of three trees to the right of Lembert dome and placed a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River in the foreground. At that time, while I liked to the potential of the location, there was no interesting light and I did not even go back on that trip to photograph there – I just filed it away in my memory as something to try should I be there when sunset clouds were just right. So when I thought I saw “sunset potential” on this night, I more or less made a bee-line to this spot. I set up my gear, made a composition (and a few variations on it) and waited to see what would happen. Not only did the colors turn on just before sunset, but at that exact time a single cloud dropping virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) appeared above Mount Dana, the distant and highest peak in the photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Yosemite

Blue Ice, Alpine Lake

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Blue Ice, Alpine Lake
Blue Ice, Alpine Lake

Blue Ice, Alpine Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patterns of blue and white ice emerge as the frozen surface of an alpine lake begins to melt, Yosemite National Park.

Yes, I’m still working the series of photographs from my late June visit to a frozen alpine lake in the Tioga Pass area of Yosemite National Park – and there still may be one or two more to come. This is a tightly cropped detail of a section of the ice on the surface of this lake that was still mostly frozen, albeit in a somewhat slushy form. (Other photographs in this series play with the juxtaposition of ices and meltwater floating on the surface of the ice.) The very blue tone comes from the fact that the illumination was entirely from the very blue sky, with no direct sunlight hitting the ice at all.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/18, 1/8 second

keywords: gaylor, lake, basin, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, tioga, pass, road, sierra, nevada, crest, mountain, range, alpine, blue, white, ice, frozen, melt, pattern, surface, landscape, nature, scenic, stock, tuolumne, evening, late, afternoon