“Tufa, Dawn” — Mono Lake tufa formations under cloudy sunrise sky.
My most common way to approach Mono Lake photographically is to focus on the immense scale of the pace rather than on closer elements of the landscape. I like to set tufa towers against distant desert hills under the wide sky, or perhaps place them in front of the distant eastern face of the Sierra Nevada stretching away to the north. Initially I was doing something like that here, focusing on those offshore towers and using somewhat short focal lengths to take in the wider scene. But then I thought to include a bit of this near tower at the right side of the frame.
“Snag and Sky” — A skeletal dead tree silhouetted against a cloudy Cotswolds sky, England.
You might never guess by looking at this photograph, but I made this on a beautiful day with blue sky and dramatic clouds, in an area along a trail in the Cotswolds that was very green. I was surrounded by gentle hills, green wheat fields, and many spring-green trees. But there was this one dead snag, devoid of leaves, standing starkly against that sky.
. “Lake, Towers, Distant Mountains” — Mono Lake tufa towers silhouetted against distant desert mountains in morning light.
I arrived here well before sunrise, thinking that clouds overhead and clear sky on the eastern horizon might produce a colorful sunrise. It did! So I made monochrome photographs! OK, I do have some color photographs of the early morning color, too, but I really did come back with as many monochrome photographs as color photos. Maybe MONO Lake calls for MONOchrome images?
“Evening Forest and Hill” — Early evening light streams between forest trees on a Sierra Nevada hill.
I have long been a sucker for backlight. I’m attracted to the glow of light coming straight at me, and I’m intrigued by the dark shadowed sides of objects and by the beams of light that lead toward the camera. Put a forest full of trees in front of me in that light and I cannot resist.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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