In early July I spent a few days in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, mostly photographing high country in and around the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite National Park. Since I was camped just outside the park boundary and east of the crest, I managed to get down to the high desert country east of the range, too. In particular, I spent one morning photographing at Mono Lake.

These tufa towers are, of course, more or less the classic subject at the lake. On this morning they were actually more of an afterthought for me. My main subject had been long views of the lake itself, and especially those that include the distant mountains to its east and north. I started photographing that subject before sunrise and kept at it until the early morning warm light dissipated. With plenty of time on my hands, I figured I might as well take a long, lazy walk down to the shoreline where I made this photograph.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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