I think I may have been there when the “alien life”* arrived at Mono Lake… ;-)
* Just kidding, of course, but given the recent stories about “alien life” (or, more correctly, some very strange terrestrial life) this cloud came to mind. The original post is here.
G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Mike, I’ll be interested to see the results of your planning and timing. I’m trying to imagine what you have in mind, and although a couple of ideas come to mind I’ll keep them to myself.
Dan
I’ve seen it rise and fall several times. Last time I was there – October, I think – it was higher.
I have a particular landscape idea in mind, if th conditions are right, which requires a fairly low water level, like in your shot. We’ll see what it’s like, early next Summer.
Lovely morning shot, Dan.
Is this recent? It looks like the water is a little lower than I expected.
I was very excited when I read about this Mono Lake bacterium. I’m glad to see you post about it.
Cheers.
Hi, Mike – thanks for dropping by and posting! I made this photograph this past summer. Just checked and it was from late July. The water could have still been a bit lower since we were coming off of a couple years of relative drought in the eastern Sierra, and even though this was a quite wet year, there was still more runoff to come in late July. Come to think of it, I don’t remember having to work as hard to avoid stepping in lakeside mud during this visit… I have seen the lake lower even in recent years, as it seems to fluctuate seasonally a bit and because the general trend over the past years has been for the lake to rise.
Dan
Thanks, folks. That cloud was just amazing good luck. I knew that interesting sky was a possibility on that morning but I could never have predicted something line this.
Dan
This is a fantastic image, Dan. I love it!
Dan – Stunning cloud formation!
PS – And I am still awed by this picture of Mono Lake. WOW!
Oh my Dan! You can say that again! And I want to share a video with you by the great National Geographic photographer, Dewitt Jones:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/bethechange/videos/1/
It is 22 minutes long and it is about celebrating what is right with the world , which was his mandate as a National Geographic photographer. When that moment happened, and the light just exploded and I was there to catch it, that is what it felt like for me. And oh was it ever worthwhile!
Cynthia, one moment of photography like that can make a whole winter of cold, pre-dawn mornings worthwhile!
Dan
Oh man, that is an amazing cloud you captured in this great photograph! I was there last week and it was sunny, absolutely clear, not a cloud in the sky and icy cold with plenty of snow on the ground. But the sunset on T-Day did make some nice color and reflections if you photographed the scenery over the lake to the east. Mono Lake is one amazing place.
Oh, and I thought being in the Eastern Sierra so late in the season I would miss all of the fall color but I was wrong. Yes, the leaves had mostly fallen but I found on tree that just was a blaze with color. I was out before the sunrise photographing in 15F temperatures catching the first rays of sunlight on Mount Tom. (my breath was freezing instantly on my camera turning it snow white!) And even though there were no clouds, the light was wonderful and Mount Tom was bathed in the most delicious red light as the first rays of the morning hit. I continued shooting as the sun rose higher and eventually it covered all of Mount Tom in light which turned from red to flat. By then I thought it was over and packed up my tripod and camera into the car when just like that, everything changed.
The sun came up a little higher and broke over the landscape in front of me with an incredible warm glow that hit the scene like a blast, an explosion of light and suddenly this tree (still full of fall color leaves) that had been in the shadow was set ablaze with a golden orange glow that was incredible! Needless to say, I scrambled and got my tripod and camera back out and got off several shots before the light turned flat again. Oh man, I may have gotten my best shot ever! And I almost missed it! But it made the trip worth it!
By the way, I enjoyed the title of the link to the original story that was posted at SFGate: “Arsenic and Old Lake.” :-)
Dan
Arsenic cloud…. alien food ; )
nice shot Dan. Love the warm/cool color contrast. The water is awesome. What time of day, evening?
Doug
Hi, Doug. This was made in the morning just as the first light was hitting the close tufa formations. It was a wonderful morning for light in that the astonishing cloud was forming over the Sierra crest, smoke from a forest fire had left a shallow layer of haze beyond the far side of the lake, and the sun was rising through thin clouds that diffused the light a bit.
I’m way more likely to shoot Mono early in the day rather than late. Because those darn Sierra mountains stand between the lake and the sunset, the evening light is often difficult! The water’s surface is often very calm in the early morning, and it usually becomes a lot rougher late in the day. Having said that, though, I have to say that I have seen some wonderful photographs made late in the day, especially when the cloud conditions are special.
Dan
Oh, this is just so wonderful! I really love it! Amazing cloud formation. I love the description as well ;-)