Tag Archives: shoreline

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake Shoreline and Tufa, Dawn

August 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dawn illuminates the shoreline of Mono Lake, tufa towers, and the smooth surface of the lake.

In my previous post (“Abandoned Buildings, Eastern Sierra”) I wrote about not quite making it to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake at dawn, instead stopped five or ten minutes earlier to shoot some amazing red sunrise light on the eastern Sierra escarpment in the Parker Pass area. Fortunately, because Mono Lake is lower in elevation that the spot where I shot sunrise, by the time I got to South Tufa the sunset wasn’t that far along. In fact, by rushing out to the shoreline I managed to get there shortly after the first light hit the tufa towers.

This was one of the first photographs I made when I arrived, hence the very golden “first light” and the long shadows on the shoreline rocks in the foreground. It was an interesting morning: there were already plentiful signs that this would be a day of thunderstorms and rain with virga to the east and a developing weather cell already over the Sierra crest to the north. Despite all of the potential for “weather action,” it was very quite and still at this point, with only the sound of seagulls breaking the morning silence.

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.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Squall, South Tufa

August 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Thunderhead builds above Mono Lake — “Morning Squall, South Tufa” — The shoreline of Mono Lake as a morning squall drops rain over the Sierra Crest near Lee Vining, California.

This photograph is, in a number of ways, a sort of happy accident. I had been camped in the Tuolumne Meadows area for several days, photographing in that part of the Yosemite National Park Sierra Nevada high country. On the previous day I had been caught out on a hike in a surprise thunderstorm without rain gear, so I was very conscious of the weather. That evening it occurred to me that, given the approach of some monsoonal moisture and the already wet weather, it was possible that interesting clouds might form in the Mono Lake area the next morning.

That night I peered out of my tent from time to time to see if any clouds were interrupting the light of the full moon, thinking that this might be enough to get me to change my plans for morning photography and make the drive to Mono Lake. At one point a few clouds did dim the moon light, and a bit later a few showers came through. At this point I decided to get up earlier and drive to the lake.

I thought I got up early enough. However, as I drove down highway 395 south of Lee Vining I realized that I had miscalculated and that the sun was already hitting the clouds! I experienced a classic photographer’s dilemma – shoot what I see here now, or race on hoping to shoot the planned thing. I decided to stop and photograph the first light on the Sierra crest from 395 before heading on — but now my original plan for a pre-dawn visit to Mono was out the window. After finishing here I made my way to Mono just as the first sun was striking the lake. I quickly made it out to the shoreline and saw (how could anyone miss it!?) this giant cloud cell blowing up over the Sierra crest just north of Lee Vining.

This post was revised in April, 2025.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Shoreline Forest, Whalers Cove

July 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest along the rocky shoreline of Whalers Cove with Big Sur hills rising in to the fog in the background, Point Lobos State Reserve.

At the far point on my hike last weekend I made it to the rocky point above Whalers Cove. Although it was still foggy – and it remained so all day – the light at the edge of the fog was just barely visible along the inland hills above Point Lobos. The diffused and soft light allows more of the details of the forest to be visible (rather than being lost in deep shadow) and the water of the cove was almost completely still on this very calm day.

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 160mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, whalers, cover, shore, shoreline, rock, cliff, edge, tree, monterey, cypress, pine, north, trail, fog, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, carmel, hills, mountains, forest, ridge, kelp, water, bay, pacific, coast, ocean, sea, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest and Lake, Morning

July 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A forest ascending a slope is reflected in the smooth waters of a mountain lake in morning light, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I passed by this mountain lake in the morning I noticed that there was a very shallow layer of fog or mist sitting on the surface of the very still water and moving slowly in the gentle morning breeze. I’m always a sucker for trees (and other things) reflected in mountain lakes, and in this case the blurred mirror image of the trees attracted me along with the way the trees receded as they marched up the slope on the far shoreline. While the sun was most certainly up by this time in the morning, it had not yet reached these trees along the shaded side of the lake below a tall ridge.

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 91mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1 second

keywords: tenaya, lake, morning, reflection, mist, fog, smooth, quiet, green, shore, shoreline, rocks, boulders, trunk, forest, tree, pine, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, stock

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.