The evening light at Mono Lake is often relatively plain. There can be a band of color close to the horizon right around sunset, and that color reflects in the waters of the lake. But the direct sunset light doesn’t make it to the lake or the surrounding mountains since it is block by the massive Sierra Nevada crest just to the west. Often we see a little bit of color… and a lot of somewhat dim sky. But when clouds appear, all bets are off.
I was fortunate to have those evening clouds during two of my visits to the lake this fall. Each time there had been earlier cloud action on the Sierra crest, and those clouds drifted to the east as evening approached. As they floated over the relatively flat terrain of Mono Basin they began to thin and break up, allowing a bit of that sunset light to strike them. Here the day’s last light turns some of the clouds pink as they float above Black Point and the Mono Lake.
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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, (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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