Black Point and Negit Island, Mono Lake Shoreline. Mono Lake, California. October 10, 20120. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The north shoreline of Mono Lake leads from foreground offshore tufa past the base of Black Point to Negit Island and beyond.

You would never know it from this black and white photograph of the austere desert landscape around Mono Lake, but I was there to photograph… fall aspen color! Earlier in the day I had photographed further south along the eastern slopes of the Sierra, gradually working my way north with a plan of heading back to the “west side” over Tioga Pass at the end of the day after doing a last bit of  fall color photography near Conway Summit and Dunderberg Road in late-afternoon light. By mid-afternoon I had made it to Lee Vining for an espresso stop at Latte Da and a break to check some email and so forth. Soon it was time to get into position for the low angle sun that would light the aspens a bit later, so I headed north out of town.

The road north from Lee Vining skirts the west shore of Mono Lake. Before leaving the lake there is a turn-off to another road that passes along the north shore of Mono Lake and can take you to places such as Black Point. I often stop at this turn-off since it provides a slightly elevated view of the larger terrain around the lake including the low hills to the east and Mono Craters and higher mountains to the south. On a typical blue sky mid-afternoon I might not make any photographs, but something about the light and the forms of the shoreline, Black Point, and Negit Island leading into the distance convinced me to make a few exposures, using a long lens to compress the distance.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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