Flowers at Sunset. Purple Lake. August 4, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Purple Lake is on the John Muir Trail just south of the Mammoth Lakes area. I was there on a recent pack trip with a group of friends.

Due to a late and heavy winter this year, the flowers bloomed a bit behind schedule and were at their peak while I was there. (The mosquitos were also thriving this year, but that is another story!)

Sharp-eyed observers will not be surprised that this photo is a composite of two images shot – on the tripod, of course – at different exposures. One was exposed for the bright sunset light on the peak and the other was exposed for the foreground grass and flowers. The two images were combined and tweaked in photoshop. This is my alternative to carrying the extra weight and bulk of graduated ND filters on the trail.

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