Morning Haze, Mono Lake

Morning Haze, Mono Lake
“Morning Haze, Mono Lake” — Morning haze mutes details of distant desert mountains beyond Mono Lake.

A photograph can be viewed in more than one way. The default is to regard it as an objective record of the subject — a “capture” of what was there when the exposure was made. But photographs are not really objectively accurate, and it might be better to think of them as expressions of how the photographer views and wants you to view the subject. This takes us to yet another possibility — that beyond the literal content of the photograph, we can also view it as a sort of abstraction, a composition of shapes and colors and densities, and textures. In the end, it can be all of these at once, and more.

I made this photograph of Mono Lake on an early fall morning, not at dawn but early enough that the harsher daytime light wasn’t there. It was hazy, which is quite common at this time of year, in part because this is wildfire season. Consequently the details of the scene are muted. Some of the impressions that I associate with Mono Lake include deep quiet and stillness (well, except when the wind kicks up!) and immense space — the vast size of the lake itself and then the even more distant surrounding terrain.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Join the discussion — leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.