“Cathedral and Dark Sky” — The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on an evening of dramatic light and clouds.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is a remarkable structure, with its intricate towers looming over Obradoiro Square. This is the end point for walkers “doing a camino” from locations in France, Spain, and Portugal. You can watch them arrive and imagine what it must be like to finally reach this point after weeks or more than a month of walking.
Every so often conditions produce some remarkable light — this was one of those times. It had been cloudy, and the sky was still dark with just a hint of sunset color. But far to the west the cloud shield ended and a beam of warm evening light fell on the cathedral, highlighting it against that dark and dramatic sky.
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“Evening, Tuolumne River” — Evening light on forests and peaks as the Tuolumne River flows through Tuolumne Meadows.
This quiet scene was even more peaceful than usual. It was an early July evening and the campground was still closed. There was hardly anyone else up there. Walking in the meadow I doubt if I saw more than a dozen people. I paused near some half-submerged rocks along the bank of the river and made this photograph looking east toward the Sierra crest in late evening light.
Let me share a secret for those of you who like solitude. Tuolumne Meadows can be a pretty busy place during the peak summer season, between folks staying at the campground and those driving in and out for the day. But at the two most beautiful times of the day the the meadow is often nearly deserted. In the morning many people are still sleeping or on their long rives to the location, and in the evening they are again driving or else back in camp fixing dinner.
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“Tufa, Island, Distant Mountains” — Shoreline tufa formations, an island, and distant mountains, Mono Lake.
This view looks roughly north across the expanse of Mono Lake and Mono Basin. The foreground formations are tufa towers, exposed as the lake’s level dropped decades ago when Los Angeles began taking the water from feeder streams. The main body of the lake lies beyond the tufa. What appears to be the far shoreline is actually Paoha Island, a volcanic feature. In the far distance are desert mountains of the basin and range country.
I knew some history about the fights over Mono Lake’s water, but I learned something new on this visit. A few decades ago Los Angeles Water and Power bought out water rights up and down the Eastern Sierra, drastically changing the environment — and in places turning former lakes into dusty wastelands. This taking dropped the level of Mono Lake by many feet (it was too late for Tule Lake in Owen’s Valley) until court orders and regulations forced an agreement that LA would begin to protect the watershed, with a goal of eventually restoring the lake to a level closer to its historic level. I thought that serious progress had been made… but decades later the lake’s level is still dangerously low.
“After the Storm — Tuolumne Sunset” — Sun comes out after a summer storm in the Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra.
Decades ago I started visiting places like this when I was very young. (My first visit to Tuolumne Meadows was almost certainly before I was 10 years old.) In my “early mountain years” — which I think of as roughly the first three decades — it was all about discovery. I went to places I had not been before, saw new sights, experienced things for the first time. Everything was new… which, of course, was kind of the point. But now, a few more decades along life’s path, I see these places differently. To a great extent they are old friends whose acquaintance I renew on each visit.
There are three high points in this photograph — Lembert and Dog Domes in the foreground and the distant summit of Mount Dana at over 13,000’. I’ve stood on all of them. Today they are no longer romantic new objectives, but rather familiar places that are part of my Sierra world. Yet somehow, I still find ways to see something new in them every time I visit.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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