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Mountain Light

 

In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, my grandson, Levi, and I took a road trip to the Eastern Sierras. These images are from that trip and are intended to be examples of a few of the different kinds of light you can experience at relatively high altitudes.  These were all taken at around 7,000 feet.  The one above is morning light on Laurel Mountain with foreground reflections separated in the man made fence, mid ground.

One of the delightful characteristics of the weather in the Eastern Sierras revolves around cloud formations.  Clouds will often build first thing in the morning as the sun is making its first appearance.  They can then pretty much disappear.  Later in the afternoon clouds will often begin to build again.  I recall one time being up Lee Vining Canyon and getting caught under one of those afternoon build ups and getting drenched in rain and pelted by hail.  On the afternoon depicted above one of those storms was developing with ominous clouds in the background and a filterer light on the sages closer to the camera. 
As sunset approaches, watch for a gap in the clouds at the horizon.  If the sun is able to shine through the gap and get light under the clouds you will be in for a treat.  This image was taken after sunset with the higher clouds being lit from the underside.  As I witness the colors of sunset developing and getting better I can barely contain my excitement. Then it begins to fade and the colors leave and it is time to chuck it in and go get ready for the next morning's sunrise surprise.

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  1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2023 at 4:23 PM

    Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos!

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