Autumn Meadow, Drifting Smoke
Autumn Meadow, Drifting Smoke. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Light beams pass through drifting smoke to illuminate autumn trees, Yosemite Valley.
This was just about my first photograph on this November 1 day in Yosemite Valley for the fall color. I drove up very early in the morning, departing hours before sunrise so that I could be there for early light. I was a bit disappointed to find that a managed fire was underway in the valley, filling the lower end with thick smoke and producing some haze almost everywhere. For a brief moment I contemplated driving back out of the Valley and photographing in lower, clearer country… but as I drove a short Valley loop I found that the smoke was actually adding a dramatic effect in some places.
In the end, most of the photographs I made on this visit involved that haze, ranging from barely enough too be visible up to smoke that choked the lungs and burned the eyes. Here the smoke was fairly thick, though it did not spread too far, and while there was a lot of smoke among the trees the air was relatively clearer where I set up. As I made this photograph the rising sun was still low in the sky, and the interplay of light and shadow formed angled light beams.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
Autumn Meadow, Drifting Smoke
Autumn Meadow, Drifting Smoke. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Light beams pass through drifting smoke to illuminate autumn trees, Yosemite Valley.
This was just about my first photograph on this November 1 day in Yosemite Valley for the fall color. I drove up very early in the morning, departing hours before sunrise so that I could be there for early light. I was a bit disappointed to find that a managed fire was underway in the valley, filling the lower end with thick smoke and producing some haze almost everywhere. For a brief moment I contemplated driving back out of the Valley and photographing in lower, clearer country… but as I drove a short Valley loop I found that the smoke was actually adding a dramatic effect in some places.
In the end, most of the photographs I made on this visit involved that haze, ranging from barely enough too be visible up to smoke that choked the lungs and burned the eyes. Here the smoke was fairly thick, though it did not spread too far, and while there was a lot of smoke among the trees the air was relatively clearer where I set up. As I made this photograph the rising sun was still low in the sky, and the interplay of light and shadow formed angled light beams.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.