gdanmitchell
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 p.1 #10 · Photographers in the Sierra backcountry | |
OMDnext wrote:
Wonderful. Tfs
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Jeffrey wrote:
Great images and story Dan. It's been a while, but I used to hike in deep for a week or two. Those rain dumps are serious, and then magically they end and everything is wonderful again. I'm sure you experienced that.
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psharvic wrote:
Thanks for the story and fine pics, Dan.
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junglialoh wrote:
Nice collection of beautiful image set with story.
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dallvr wrote:
Fascinating story about your history of getting into the high Sierras with fellow photographers. And the photos are great evidence for why you go back again and again.
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Starfire8 wrote:
Another gorgeous series, Dan! Awesome work! You had some great conditions for photography, though maybe not for camping! :-))
Best regards, David
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Ross Martin wrote:
Glorious images Dan! You have my vote this week.
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agvogel wrote:
Amazing Dan!
Among other things, you have a great skill for capturing trees - even when there is no direct light on them in blue hour, your images bring them to life in a special way. "The Storm Ends" in particular.
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Thank you, everyone! Replies to various points in your comments follow:
This rain was like nothing I've encountered in the Sierra before during the summer months. I've seen extremely heavy rain, but usually for a matter of minutes until a thunderstorm passed. I've also been in very heavy hail — but it, too, was over in less than five minutes. This was orders of magnitude beyond what I've encountered in more than 50 years of backpacking. It was nearly as heavy as the heaviest rain/hail bursts that I've encountered... but it went on for something like four hours before it let up a bit. Lying in our tent, trying to stay warm and dry, the sound was amazing... as was the flood of water around and under the tent. (I'm grateful for having a good tent!) And an hour or two into it we started hearing a roar like the sound of jet engines — it was the nearby creek turning into a full-blown torrent!
Having said (and survived!) that, it certainly made for interesting conditions going forward, at least once the storm passed about 24 hours later. We did have more rain showers at times — the rain photo I've included was a couple of mornings later — but mostly we just had very interesting skies. And the rain "greened up" the surroundings and brought late-season creeks back to life.
Thanks for noticing the tree photographs. That's kind of a "thing" for me, especially in the early and late hours when there is backlight and some haze. There's a sort of standing joke among some of my photographer friends. You know when someone walks up and asks, "What are you shooting?" Our answer is "rocks, water, and trees." All of those were available in abundance here, as is usually the case in the Sierra.
Eventually I'm going to write up something more in-depth about the nature of these group trips we go on.
(We had a couple of funny moments on the trail. At one point a hiker asked Michael if we were a workshop... and they were taken aback when he answered, "No, we're just a group of photographers out to make photographs." Another strange moment occurred on the first day while we are hiking in. I'm slower than I used to be — and I've always been a sort of slow and steady hiker — so was bringing up the rear of our group, which was spread out over perhaps a half mile or so. A couple approached going the opposite direction and as they got close the man said, "I know you!" I was wracking my brain trying to think who he might are and where I might have met him... and coming up blank. Then he said something along the lines of "photographic royalty!" Apparently he had met Michael (who is the closest to such a designation among our gang) who had filled him in on the members of the group... most of whom he knew from social media, etc.)
Next Sierra visit for me is likely to be for fall color in a couple of weeks, followed by a visit to a very different autumn destination that I may have more to say about later on, and then perhaps a mid-October return to the Sierra.
Again, thanks for stopping by to look and comment!
Dan
Edited on Sep 20, 2022 at 12:24 AM · View previous versions
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