Category Archives: Photographs: Desert

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

South Tufa, Morning

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South Tufa, Morning

South Tufa, Morning. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of early morning at South Tufa, Mono Lake, California.

This black and white panorama was photographed on my early June, 2009 visit to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake. Earlier that morning I had photographed the more typical early morning golden light of dawn on the tufa towers from a closer position. This photograph was more or less a last-minute afterthought, as I had completed the photography I had in mind on this morning and had pack up. I was actually leaving the shoreline when I happened to look back at this view that includes many tufa towers and I noticed the two small clouds (remnants of more extensive dawn clouds) centered over the towers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

First Light, South Tufa

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First Light, South Tufa

First Light, South Tufa. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light of dawn illuminates tufa towers and distant mountain at Mono Lake, California.

This photograph was made at the usual spot – anyone who has photographed at Mono (and who hasn’t!? :-) knows that the most consistent spot to shoot sunrise light is at the South Tufa area, down the road from highway 395 a bit south of Lee Vining. On a good morning you’ll have at least some clouds, and the location of those clouds may dictate what your foreground subject is; do you want to shoot to the north and the low hills, to the east and towards the sunrise, or toward the Sierra Nevada crest? You arrive very early, usually well before dawn, and walk out to the edge of the water where the towers are. You find a composition and wait, with the only sounds the cries of seagulls (a sound I immediately associate with Mono) and possibly the voices of other photographers. The sky begins to lighten and then, almost before you know it, the warm glow of the first dawn light begins to light up the towers. (Am I the only one who marvels that this happens in almost complete silence?)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: first, light, dawn, sun, rise, morning, illuminate, tufa, tower, south, mono, lake, water, reflection, cloud, sky, red, pink, rock, ripple, pattern, gull, bird, distant, california, usa, eastern, sierra, nevada, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock, bird, shore

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining

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Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining

Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining. Sierra Nevada Mountains, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and afternoon clouds over the high desert of the eastern Sierra Nevada range near Lee Vining, California.

I’m finally finding a bit of time to go back to some photographs I made in June this year, including a series from the eastern Sierra that I’ll present in black and white. I made this photograph on an early June trip, the first of the year on which I was able to cross the Sierra on the newly opened Tioga Pass Road. It was something of a “random trip,” as I initially thought I might end up shooting spring subjects in Yosemite Valley – until I figured out that it was going to be way too crowded there and just headed over Tioga Pass instead to camp in Lee Vining Canyon. On this evening I drove out toward Mono Lake and “chased the light” as a storm broke up over the Sierra crest. Not finding quite what I was looking for at this exact hour at Mono I headed back toward highway 395 and took a little gravel road towards the upper end of the June Lakes Loop. As I came to the top of the hill I saw this wonderful view looking north across the high desert and sagebrush towards the hills around Lee Vining with the light shining onto the valley floor below the clouds that were just starting to thin.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: eastern, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, lee vining, california, usa, sage, high, desert, hills, road, pole, utility, telephone, electric, clouds, owens valley, june lake, loop, gravel, brush, afternoon, evening, sierra, nevada, range, eastern, escarpment, lee vining, stock, light, overcast

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn

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Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mono Lake and shoreline tufa towers are illuminated by dawn light.

I more or less accidentally ended up at Mono Lake early on the second morning of my early June “Yosemite trip.” My plans are often somewhat flexible when I’m out doing photography, but they were very flexible this time. My original plan had been to try to grab a last-minute campsite in Yosemite Valley and shoot there for the better part of two days, but when my position on the campsite waiting list made this option look less than certain I decided to instead head up to Tuolumne Meadows, over Tioga Pass, and get a camp site on the east side. Being only a 15 minute drive from the iconic South Tufa location at Mono Lake it was hard not to head over there before dawn.

The dawn light can be truly stunning at this location if you hit it just right. Ideal conditions might include glass smooth water on the lake, some clouds over the Sierra crest and perhaps directly overhead, but clear sky to the east so that the first sun can hit the towers without obstruction. When I arrived at Mono before sunrise it did not look like it would end up being quite that “ideal” day. A fairly solid overcast filled the sky to the east, with just a few small holes in the clouds that might allow some beams of light to pass through. But since I was there – and since I’ve learned that conditions can evolve in interesting and surprising ways – I wandered on out to the water’s edge and set up for a first shot in a small bay-like spot. After shooting the very first light hitting some towers out in the water I decided to move a bit to my right and into a more jumbled area of the tufa where I found this composition looking out between towers toward the lake and the nearly clear sky to the north.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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