How Fast Can the Light Change?
Posted on 29 November 2007
Lighting can change a lot at different times of the day, but sometimes it can change so quickly and so radically that it is almost unbelievable.
In July of 2006 I was in Tuolumne Meadows shooting the sunset from the west end of the meadow. Among the photographs I took that evening were the following two – shot from about the same spot within a five minute span:
Lembert Dome Alpenglow, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park. July 23, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Tuolumne Meadows Alpenglow. Yosemite National Park. July 23, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
What happened on this evening was a phenomenon that I’ve seen more than once in the Sierra at sunset. On a partly cloudy evening the sun drops towards the horizon and as the sun passes behind the clouds and the color fades you begin to suspect that it will be a mediocre sunset. But then the sun drops to very near the horizon and its light turns red and shines upwards at the bottoms of the clouds to the west and overhead – and the most unimaginable wash of color appears for a few short minutes… and then is gone.
That’s OK, I didn’t believe these colors either and I was standing (crouching, actually) right there as it happened… :-)
6 comments to How Fast Can the Light Change?
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G Dan Mitchell
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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, and night photography.
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Dan this is incredibly beautiful. I’ve witnessed several light shows like this, but never at Tuolumne Meadows. I hope you have this in your Flickr photostream. I’ll want to pass it on to a few people I know on there with specialty groups centered around Alpenglow.
I’m with Jim. The light definitely changes very fast in the Sierra Nevada; I’ve seen it shift from vibrant to OMG!!!!11one! in a matter of seconds, and then to flat and dull in another heartbeat. Of course it can seem to take forever to get there.
is a good example of the height of the good light.
Ambitious, thanks for the comment!
That last sentence is very true! Sometimes I’ll set up and wait… and wait… and wait – as things seem to move very slowly. And then, sometimes, suddenly stuff starts changing so quickly that I almost can’t keep up with it. That was certainly the case on the evening when I got those two shots! (One of the great misconceptions is that all landscape photography is done slowly, lazily, and with great and careful forethought. If only!)
Jim, thanks for writing!
I’ll have to add those to my Flickr account – I don’t think they are there yet.
That was a truly incredible evening in the Meadow. (Definitely worth fighting off the mosquitos – with less than total success – for over an hour.) I stayed well past true sunset and continued shooting into near darkness. One of the other special things about that particular visit to Tuolumne was that it was a very wet year, and many portions of the meadow were more like small lakes – allowing me to shoot some wonderful reflections that you simply don’t get to see later in the season.
Update for Jim… I just added these to my Flickr sets.
Dan
Dan, these two images say a lot — they’re a terrific example of fast changing light. I’ve sent the link to many of my friends. So true that landscape photography requires patience, patience, patience. And as you observed, the mosquitoes love to come out and join you especially at dusk, but there’s no question that it’s worth it for light like you had in the 2nd image!
Thanks, John. Yes, there is nothing quite like a warm-blooded photographer crouching in a wet Sierra meadow on a July evening to attract the mosquitos. :-)