Fanfare
Dramatic and Majestic
Fanfares are loud, exciting, and dramatic. This gallery presents images that are invigorating, energetic, and inspiring. These places inspire awe.
Sunbeams over Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff National Park
by Michael Piraino
People have lived within sight of this mountain for 10,000 years. I thought of this fact when I read stories of indigenous people being told to go back where they came from. There’s a reason they are called First Nations people in Canada; they’ve been here over 9,000 years longer than the rest of us.
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Mountains, Clouds and Fog Reflected in Alpine Lake, Banff National Park
by Michael Piraino
Grace Presently. The Canadian Rockies reflected in a small lake. A cold, dreamy morning of fog, cloud and shadows. I was attracted to the many triangles in this scene; several in the mountains, one large one made by the assembly of trees on the right, the multitude of stretched triangles of the reflecting trees. Some mist rising from the lake, frost on the trees, and a fog bank behind the trees made the whole experience a bit mystical.
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Basalt Columns and Breaking Waves, New South Wales, Australia, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Great swells from the South Pacific come ashore here and demonstrate their power when they hit the basalt columns of the former quarry. This huge wave produced patterns like a fireworks display. The surf and wave forms are fun to capture with somewhat long exposures, and the booming sound and rhythmic movement are fascinating.
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Southern Alps (Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, Mirage of the Ocean), New Zealand, 2017
By Michael Piraino
Geometric Expression. Main Divide, Southern Alps, New Zealand. Almost all New Zealand’s highest peaks cluster along a 40 kilometer stretch of the Main Divide separating the Canterbury Plains from the Westland.
This is an early spring aerial view of blowing snow and drifting clouds in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Mountains bring such grace and beauty into our lives-and I appreciate that more and more every day.
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Storm Clouds, Owens Valley, Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, 2023
By Michael Piraino
Cold fronts approaching from the west create a wave of speedy winds passing over the Sierra crest, then descending the steep eastern slopes toward the Owens Valley. As the winds reach the valley floor, they swoop upward again, then downward, sometimes rising a final time over the Inyo Mountains to the east. The waves of wind resonate with the land to generate lenticular clouds and dramatic scenes like this. It was one positive gift from the atmospheric river that blocked us from visiting Yosemite
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Cloud over Nooksack Tower, Mount Shuksan, North Cascade Mountains, 2020
By Michael Piraino
24 hours of mountain time. The comet streaking, the mountain’s cloud glowing, a crescent moon shining, creeks singing, ice and snow reflecting, avalanche lily flowering; peace and quiet. Infrared black and white photo, taken shortly after sunrise.
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Snow and Fog, Merced River, Yosemite National Park, 2019
By Michael Piraino
It’s iconic. Everyone stops and takes a photo there. But somehow I never tire of doing the same. A quiet time at Yosemite following the night’s snow. El Capitan, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls from Valley View.
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Storm Clouds, 60 Lakes Basin, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Kings Canyon National Park, 2018
By Michael Piraino
It takes a pretty enthusiastic hike to reach this place. The Rae Lakes sit in a remote cirque below high granite peaks in Kings Canyon National Park. On a layover day, we hiked into 60 Lakes Basin, deep in the heart of Kings Canyon. What first attracted me to this place was the role Ansel Adams played in making it into a national park In there 1930s. My son Ethan and I camped at some of the places Adams photographed — photos that helped convince congress to create the park.
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Mountain and Clouds Reflections in Rae Lakes, Kings Canyon, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Painted Lady watches over the Rae Lakes as a storm cloud passes in the distance. The 11,854 foot high mountain is on the John Muir trail in Kings Canyon National Park. These lakes were named in 1906 for Rachel “Rae” Colby, wife of the Sierra Club’s first secretary William Colby, who advocated for the creation of Kings Canyon National Park. The infrared camera brought out the features of this early morning scene from our campsite.
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Bridalveil Falls and Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley,
By Michael Piraino
When the mist clears and the sun shines, there is glory in Yosemite Valley.
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Yosemite Falls in Fog and Winter Storm, 2017
By Michael Piraino
This scene slowly revealed itself as I watched from across the meadow. The late afternoon sun peaked through a bit but the show was all about the fog and mist. The photo opp lasted six minutes as if to say, “this is revealed to you; appreciate it while you can.” I did.
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Mountains and Glacier, Iceland, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Morsarjokul Glacier curves down from the highlands of Vatnajökull National Park, whose huge ice cap covers seven active volcanoes.
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Sunrise and Moonset, Mount Rainier, 2017
By Michael Piraino
The bright shining grace of The Mountain at the edge of day. What a greeting on one of my last days of work at Mount Rainier for this year. All morning long, the mountain peaked out, then hid in the fog and mist, then showed itself once more. This mountain (I’ve counted 63 different names for it!) is full of such wondrous surprises. It may be 500,000 years old, but it is new every day.
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Bridge over Merced River, Yosemite Valley in Snowstorm, 2019
By Michael Piraino
I love the way the bridge adds to the contrast of a misty scene. The skies this day were full of alternating clouds and sun, making for great lighting that painted the scenery in an almost impressionistic style.
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Mountains and Clouds, Olympic National Park, 2003
By Michael Piraino
Lingering Grace. I watched the shadows play on the mountains and valleys for two hours before this view revealed itself, just before sunset. This view is toward LIllian Glacier, Windfall Peak and Grand Pass. Infrared photo taken with a converted Canon EOS M. Black and white
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Clearing Strom, Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, 2023
By Michael Piraino
A dramatic early morning in the Eastern Sierra, with ice and snow on the ground and fog that meandered for hours.
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Aerial, Snowfield and Mountain Peaks, Southern Alps, New Zealand, 2017
By Michael Piraino
Almost all of New Zealand’s highest peaks cluster along a 40 kilometer stretch of the Main Divide separating the Canterbury Plains from the Westland. A partly cloudy day helped create patterns of light and dark on the snow fields in Te Wai Pounamu, the South Island of New Zealand. The Main Divide runs along the western edge of the mountain range, near the Tasman Sea. We drove over Haast Pass to reach the western side of the mountains, where the scenery is lush with forests and glacier-fed rivers.
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Mormon Barn and Mountains, Grand Teton National Park, 2022
By Michael Piraino
conic. That word kept coming into my head as I had this place all to myself last month, due to the early hour. I first saw these mountains nearly 60 years ago, and have always remembered them as the archetype of a mountain range (just as Mount Rainier is my archetype for a volcano). Such places whisper to me through time, and I know that as iconic and popular as they may be, my experience of them is always a once and only spirit journey. Come back the next day or six decades later and the pilgrimage will be original and incomparable.
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Afternoon Clouds and Passing Storm, Sierra Nevadan Mountains, Kings Canyon National Park, 2016
By Michael Piraino
The spectacular Rae Lakes. This trip had everything the Sierra offers; beautiful and colorful flowing rivers, peaceful valleys, sparkling meadows sprinkled with aspen, deep canyons shining in the sun, lakes of the most intense emerald color, singing creeks, and of course those mountains.
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Clouds, Fog and Clearing Snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Our day started in glory; the most amazing sights we have ever seen after this snow dropped on Yosemite Valley. We had visited various favorites spots in the valley, walking and photographing along the Merced River, and capped it off with this view of the fog lifting to reveal the snow covered trees.
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Sailboat and Storm Clouds, Puget-Sound, Bainbridge Island, 2017
By Michael Piraino
Bright shining grace. Capturing the dramatic lighting of this photo wasn’t a piece of luck. It was the result of a habit of putting myself whenever possible in a location where a scene like this might occur. The sailboat is moving toward Eagle Harbor.
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Clearing Snowstorm, Leidig Meadow, Yosemite Valley, November, 2012
By Michael Piraino
Located just west of Yosemite Lodge At The Falls, the meadow is named for Isabella and George Leidig who owned a hotel here in the late 1800s. I was fortunate to be in the valley during an early November snowstorm while the fall colors were still on the trees. I had been walking and taking pictures in the falling snow for four hours when I found myself alone in the meadow. The snow finally stopped falling, the clouds began to break up, and the sun started to raise some mist in the valley. The cliffs at the base of Eagle Peak provide a dark background for the snowy foreground.
“When from our better selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world, and droop; Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, how gracious, how benign is solitude.”
–William Wordsworth
The photo I took a few years ago, when I had the Valley almost to myself for a morning. Not then imagining how essential moments of solitude would become in this coarse new age.
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Rainbow over Half Dome, Olmsted Point, Yosemite, 2012
By Michael Piraino
The short trail to this rocky point in front of the Olmsted Point viewing area is worth taking, yet not many people do. It’s a peaceful place to sit and watch the changing clouds which often enshrowd Half Dome away to the southwest. I came upon this scene during my first brief visit to Yosemite in 2012. The evocatively named Clouds Rest is to the left.
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Snow Capped Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand, 2017
By Michael Piraino
Looking up from the Hooker Valley, I watched the clouds part just enough to allow this spotlight of sun to light up the top of Aoraki. There was no need for color to enhance this scene.
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Sunbeam over Glacial Lagoon, Iceland, 2019
By Michael Piraino
The lighting around this lagoon in the early morning was varied and moody. If you watch with patience, the reward would be great contrasting light with highlights on the icebergs.
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Torres del Paine massif, Chilean Patagonia
By Michael Piraino
Black and white photo of Torres del Paine in Southern Patagonia of Chile with fog and clouds. This shot focuses on Los Cuernos (The Horns).
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