Tag Archives: towers

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

Morning Virga, Mono Lake

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Morning Virga, Mono Lake
Morning Virga, Mono Lake

Morning Virga, Mono Lake. Mono Lake, California. July 25, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Isolated Mono Lake tufa towers stand in the morning light below clouds dropping morning virga.

Early in the morning, Mono Lake is often a very still and quiet place and the sense of empty space and the scale of the landscape are palpable. Down close to the water the only sound comes from the gulls and the water is often nearly glass-smooth. (For a while – later in the day the wind often rises and the things become more agitated.)

I had spent an hour or more photographing at the shoreline in and around tufa towers and had finished for the morning. I had packed everything up and loaded the car and was actually starting to drive away when I saw this scene composed almost entirely of blue tones, with the clouds dropping virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) above the distant mountains, and a few isolated tufas offshore.

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.

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keywords: mono, lake, county, clouds, morning, virga, tufa, towers, silhouette, mountains, outline, haze, blue, sky, water, high, desert, california, usa, north america, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, stock

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

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn

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Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn
Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn

Virga Above Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of dawn virga above mountains ringing Mono Lake.

Before dawn clouds formed by tropical moisture streaming up from the south had formed to the east of the Mono Basin and virga (rain that doesn’t make it all the way to the ground) was falling from them as the sky began to lighten. As I photographed alone from a high vantage point above the lake I was struck – how could you not be! – but the vast scale and the immense stillness and quiet of this landscape.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/8, 1/15 second

keywords: mono, lake, county, california, usa, north america, virga, rain, clouds, morning, dawn, reflection, mountains, ridge, hills, shore, line, tufa, towers, still, landscape, nature, eastern, sierra, nevada, desert, high, black and white, monochrome, stock

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

South Tufa, Morning

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South Tufa, Morning

South Tufa, Morning. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of early morning at South Tufa, Mono Lake, California.

This black and white panorama was photographed on my early June, 2009 visit to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake. Earlier that morning I had photographed the more typical early morning golden light of dawn on the tufa towers from a closer position. This photograph was more or less a last-minute afterthought, as I had completed the photography I had in mind on this morning and had pack up. I was actually leaving the shoreline when I happened to look back at this view that includes many tufa towers and I noticed the two small clouds (remnants of more extensive dawn clouds) centered over the towers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

keywords: south, tufa, towers, mono, lake, water, reflection, black and white, beach, rock, geology, formation, ripple, dawn, day, break, morning, light, cloud, mountains, distant, atmosphere, silhouette, shore, waterline, foam, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, stock, sand, stark, panorama, pano

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Mare Island Street, Dusk

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Mare Island Street, Dusk
Mare Island Street, Dusk. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A street and railroad tracks pass beneath shipyard structures and past old brick shop buildings at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in dusk light. The museum for this shipyard is housed in the brick building on the left side of the photograph – one of many interesting and historic structures still found at this location.

keywords: mare island, naval, shipyard, historic, road, street, railroad, tracks, brick, wooden, scaffold, equipment, industrial, shops, windows, dusk, evening, sunset, artificial, light, towers, cranes, smokestack, vallejo, california, usa, travel, urban, landscape, stock