Cloud formations, approaching storm, Mariposa, Thursday
It was windy last Thursday as the big storm was approaching. Walking from my office toward the house I noticed some unusual clouds to the southwest. I didn’t make it to the house; I grabbed my camera bag and tripod, climbed the small hill behind my office, and spent the next half hour photographing clouds.
The clouds overhead were dark, but I could see clear skies to the southwest. The light from that clear patch created a beautiful golden glow on the underside of the clouds, as if it were sunset, even though it was just past noon. The wind probably helped create the sculptured patterns. There was no compelling foreground to put under the clouds, and besides, the most interesting patterns were rather small and distant, so I used my 70-200 zoom to pick out sections of clouds with interesting designs. The photograph below looks a bit HDR, but it was actually the opposite – I increased the contrast, rather than decreasing it.
The storm stalled over the Bay Area that afternoon, and didn’t reach Mariposa until midnight. So while areas near the coast dealt with flooding and power outages, we got a bit less rain and snow than expected. Yosemite Valley received just under two inches of rain, which was a good soaking, but not a deluge. As this precipitation map shows, while many areas around California have received above-average precipitation for the last six months, the Sierra Nevada is still below average. And that’s just the last six months, which doesn’t include the three preceding dry winters. So this storm helped, but we have a long way to go.
I drove up to Yosemite Valley for sunrise when the storm finally cleared Saturday morning. I found a little bit of new snow on the valley floor, though it had mostly melted by then. But there was some nice mist, and many photographers enjoying the Saturday morning weather.
Two more weaker storms are predicted to arrive this week, the first one Monday and Tuesday, the second on Friday. I haven’t heard anything about snow levels for the second storm, but snow levels for the first one are expected to stay above 5,000 feet, which is, again, too high for Yosemite Valley. It’s always possible that the predictions could be a little off, and the valley could get a dusting of snow toward the tail-end of the storm.
But the high country is developing a good snowpack. Badger Pass ski area actually opened today! We seem to be in a wet pattern, and let’s hope that continues.
— Michael Frye
More cloud formations from Thursday. No, this isn’t HDR!
Fog in Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View, Yosemite, Saturday morning
Trees and fog, Yosemite, Saturday morning
Ripples and reflections of El Capitan, Saturday morning
Trees and granite pinnacle in fog near the Arch Rock entrance station, Yosemite, Saturday morning
Related Post: Another Storm on the Way
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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
Left my message on the wrong image. Another Storm on the way. So when you find the message it is for this beautiful work. I so want to be there. See you in 2015.
I got it Janet – no worries. 🙂
Michael, those first 2 remind me of Japanese textiles. Very cool!
Nice, I hadn’t thought of that – thanks Monika!
Michael,
I know nothing of Japanese textiles but if you had told us this was a rapidly flowing river I would have believed that. As Joni Mitchell wrote and Judi Collins sang “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now…”.
“It’s cloud illusions I recall…” Okay, now you’ve got that song stuck in my head. 🙂
Michael:
Really love the 4th & 6th images. Awesome!
Thank you Bill!
Michael,
How absolutely stunning! Angel wings and mountains in the sky.
Thank you for capturing the beauty for everyone to enjoy!
Merry Christmas!
Thanks very much Becky!
Judging from the light in your tunnel shot, you must have taken it just before we made our 3rd trip up to the tunnel that morning. Very tricky morning with those clouds as to where it was going to clear first. I think we had just come back up from a quick trip down to the Three Brothers. We were very pleased to find snow on Friday night in spite of the 6000 ft snow level prediction. We were hoping the storm would break by 11 giving us a partial moon over the freshly fallen snow, but those darn clouds didn’t break until Saturday AM. We still came back with some keepers making the 12 hour round trip absolutely worth it. Looking forward to more snow this year, knock on wood. Some of those people at the tunnel were hard core. I think we were either the 2nd or 3rd group there that morning arriving just after 4 AM to shoot the moon. We had some nice long exposure shots going before a tow truck showed up with his bright lights on and blew the heck out of all of our shots while he took his chains off, sending us on our first trip around the loop looking for moonlit clouds over that new snow. Not much sleep that night, but a great night of shooting once the moon finally worked it’s way through. Thanks for continuing to share your shots with us as we are constantly drawing inspiration from them!
The Tunnel View image was at 7:25 a.m., if that helps pinpoint things. I faced the same dilemma. I went to the tunnel first, but it was socked in, so I drove down toward the valley, only to catch glimpses of El Cap, and decide that Tunnel View might work after all. So I headed back up there and made a couple of the photographs you see here. But it was probably nice elsewhere around that time too.
I also thought about going up to the park to photograph the moonrise around 11 p.m. the night before. It looked like it was going to clear, and then the clearing slowed down, so I went to bed. 🙂
Wow. Michael: I really love these images. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Thanks David!
In one week I am going to be traveling to Yosemite and fulfill a dream at the top of my bucket list. Your website and app have been a great source of ideas and inspiration for the photos I plan to take. Thanks!
That’s great Mark, and I’m glad I could help!
I love your loud sculpture images. They look just like silky water, but there is this softness to it, you know it is something else.