Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Black and white photograph of dawn virga above mountains ringing Mono Lake.
Before dawn clouds formed by tropical moisture streaming up from the south had formed to the east of the Mono Basin and virga (rain that doesn’t make it all the way to the ground) was falling from them as the sky began to lighten. As I photographed alone from a high vantage point above the lake I was struck – how could you not be! – but the vast scale and the immense stillness and quiet of this landscape.
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/8, 1/15 second
keywords: mono, lake, county, california, usa, north america, virga, rain, clouds, morning, dawn, reflection, mountains, ridge, hills, shore, line, tufa, towers, still, landscape, nature, eastern, sierra, nevada, desert, high, black and white, monochrome, stock
Thanks, Colin. Yes, these are tricky to do, and the subtleties are the trick I think.
Dan
I always enjoy those cloudy skies full of very subtle greys and they often make me reach for my camera, though it’s so easy to over process them on the print.