Week Two - Kristin Goodell - Mountain Magic

These two photos are of the view of Mt. Shasta from my family’s home. I took the first photo at sunrise in February. The sun is behind the mountain and illuminating the underside of the clouds. The cloud line is above the sun, but below the mountain’s peak. The mountain’s shadow is cast along the underside of the clouds, creating a sharp triangle of shadow in between the orange and yellow sunrise. Because of the perspective, the lines of the shadow converge back to the sun’s position. I think that this photo is very dynamic because of the sharp lines and contrast between warm sunrise and cool shadow. The sharp lines remind me of when we created precise angles of light using barn doors in my introduction to lighting class. I wonder if you could create a similar effect on stage using floor lights behind scenery. 

The second photo is of a phenomenon called alpenglow (or alpine glow), which refers to when a mountain is illuminated by sunlight during sunset/dusk. According to my research, many nature photographers still argue as to whether alpenglow is the result of direct light from the sunset (with the sun being invisible to us on the ground but still visible to the mountain) or indirect light from the set sun being reflected from the suspended particles in the atmosphere. In this photo, I think that the alpenglow is a result of direct light since there is a defined shadow cast on the mountain. After the sun has set below the horizon, the mountain continues to “glow” in vibrant red, orange, and pink hues, while the rest of the landscape is cast in darkness. Eventually, the glow softens to a violet and then ultimately fades out, at which point the mountain is swallowed by the surrounding night. My dad and I love to sit on the deck and watch the alpenglow while we have dinner, especially during the winter when the mountain is covered in snow. The white snow caps deliver even more bright and saturated alpenglow than the snow-less mountain peak during the summer. Reading about alpenglow has reminded me of the color theory lecture and how we perceive different colors based on the wavelengths of the light. I think alpenglow is one of the most magical sights to see during a sunset.