I “discovered” these formations years ago while searching for autumn aspen color in mountains east of the Sierra Nevada. I was at a location where I have frequently photographed dense groves of small trees. As I photographed them in soft morning light — they are on the shaded side of a ridge — I noticed this fascinating terrain dropping towards Mono Basin.
Continue reading Mono Basin Pinnacles, Morning
We’re back from the Sierra Nevada, and I have some new photographs to share. I was actually on the east side of the range twice over the past couple of weeks, mostly chasing autumn aspen color but also photographing other seasonal subjects. October is probably my favorite time in the range, and there was a lot to see, including this impressive sunrise cloud show along the crest near Bishop.
Continue reading Sierra Crest Clouds
Point Lobos and I go back a long ways. Shortly after my parents moved to the San Francisco Bay Area — I was four years old then — they began to take us on interesting day trips. A favorite was going to Monterey, which was a much smaller and quieter place then. A highlight of those visits was traveling a few miles south to Point Lobos, where we explored tide pools, walked the trails, and watched sea lions. This was one of the first places where I began to make photographs, likely with a simple Brownie camera and some black and white film.
Continue reading Monterey Cypress Trees, Cliffs and Surf
Mono Basin is a fine place to contemplate geology and immense spans of time. Mono Lake itself is an ancient body of water, and one that has not always looked like it does today. The lake is probably 3/4 of a million years old, and its ancestor lake was, at times, much deeper and larger than it is today. At times its waters rose high enough to overcome its current landlocked state and drain either north or south. (To really bend your mind, its waters may have drained to ancient Lake Manly in Death Valley.) Today, as large as the lake is, it is greatly diminished in size and depth by comparison.
Continue reading Early Light, Mono Craters