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.
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
Dawn light illuminates the Jeffrey pine covered ridge of a volcanic dome in the Mono Craters complex, California.
I have a favorite personal spot where I often stop on my way to photograph at South Tufa at Mono Lake. It is spot that you would likely pass right by since, save for a bit of a panoramic view, there is nothing immediately impressive about it, and because you would probably be on your way to someplace else, namely the formations at South Tufa.
On this late June morning I took a break from photographing in the Tuolumne/Tioga Pass area to shoot a bit around Mono Lake, where I had it in mind to shoot certain high desert subjects that I’ve worked on in the past. As I shot those other subjects I’ve often looked up at this particular ridge, been impressed by it, and wondered how to make a photograph of it. When I pulled up at this spot I first intended to shoot a scene that appears to the west, but it turned out to not be quite what I imagined it might be on this morning. Ah, well – that happens! So I turned my camera in a different direction and photographed a somewhat different subject as dawn approached with some very interesting clouds in the sky to the east. As I worked on this I kept glancing up at this volcanic ridge, thinking that the clouds behind it might silhouette the trees along the skyline… but still finding the light too flat and boring. I actually made a photo or two, but wasn’t enthusiastic about it. I turned back to the other subject. A few minutes later I looked back up at this ridge and saw that the first light of early morning sun was glancing across the ridge and lighting up the Jeffrey pines that grow on its slopes. I quickly pivoted around and made a few exposures of the scene in the “good light.”
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.
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.
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.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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