Sunrise on the Sierra Nevada (And the Alabama Hills Too!)
Winter sunrise on the Sierra Nevada Mountains with the Alabama Hills in the foreground. It’s quite a contrast of colors and textures.
The Alabama Hills
The Alabama Hills are some interestingly shaped rock formations that run parallel to the eastern Sierra Nevada range. They were caused by earthquake activity in 1872. They are also home to many movie scenes from Westerns to Ironman and Man of Steel. So much so there is a dirt road that runs through them that is called Movie road. Lots of dispersed campsites are scattered through this area as well.
We spent quite a few hours driving through this collection of odd shaped rocks sitting in the shadow of the much taller Sierra range. I was looking for a composition that included the Alabama Hills along with the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was difficult to find. The Hills can be fairly prominent when you’re up close to them. So much so they tended to overpower the scene and compete with the Mountain range. We finally came upon the view above that seemed to have the proper balance.
Making The Photograph
Now we needed to find the right light. The Sierra Nevada range runs north and south so the sun sets directly behind them. Sunsets behind a mountain range are tough to shoot. The light on the eastern side of the range after sunset is very flat whereas the light in the sky above the mountains can have a high dynamic range. Blending these two results in an image that just doesn’t look right. Your mind knows that if the sky is properly exposed then the mountains should be dark. So, that brings us to sunrise.
Early morning light on the eastern side of the Sierra can be very nice. We got up well before sunrise on a number of occasions to photograph this scene. Too many of those times the sky was clear. No clouds. Good landscape photographs need clouds in the sky. So we kept trying. I kept close tabs on the cloud forecast to see what they predicted each morning. It was often wrong. It’s probably not easy forecasting mountain clouds. Finally, towards the end of our stay in Lone Pine, we got a sunrise with a bit of clouds.
It was a cold morning as we gathered our gear and loaded up the Jeep. Looking to the sky there were just enough clouds to raise our hopes for a good sunrise. Not too much. Just enough to add some texture to the sky but not too many to block the light from the east. When we arrived at the overlook we could see there were also some low hanging clouds over the mountains. Nice. That adds a bit of drama to the image. We set up the cameras and got back into the Jeep to wait for the light. It was cold, remember?
Prior to actual sunrise and direct light on the mountains you many times get a pink glow to the sky. We got a bit of that and along with the soft, even sky light made for an interesting image. I made several exposures during this “blue hour” but chose to publish this one instead. Once the sun cast its first rays onto the mountains I made several more exposures but the Alabama Hills were still in deep shadow. So I waited a bit more for the light to advance to the point where the Hills were bathed in a nice warm, golden light. The “golden hour”. There were some clouds to the east that filtered the sunlight on the Sierra so that they were not receiving full sun. This made for a nice balanced scene. Often by the time the foreground is well lit the mountains already have harsh sunlight on them and they can look washed out.
Final Thoughts
Our time in the eastern Sierra was nearing an end so I’m glad this sunrise came about. I’m equally glad we were there to see it! Arriving on location well before sunrise on a cold but promising morning is exhilarating but I know it’s not for everyone. But it’s the only way to make photographs like this. You have to chase the light. You also have to be persistent. When that light warms up the scene like the image above and you’re the only ones there to witness it, it makes all the previous attempts worth it.
As always, you can see higher resolution images on our Facebook page. Please give us a like while you’re there.
Comments are closed.
