Tag Archives: water

Negit Island, Mono Lake

Negit Island, Mono Lake
“Negit Island, Mono Lake” — Tufa formations along the shoreline of Mono Lake with Negit Island in the distance.

In a recent Mono Lake post I mused about finding and photographing less familiar views of this magnificent place. But I also mentioned that sometimes I do stop and photograph the well-known locations when the opportunity arises. With that in mind, I acknowledge that this photograph was made at one of the familiar places along the western shore of the lake. Heck, there’s even a place there to pull in, pay a fee, have a picnic, and take a hike!

The photograph encompasses a whole lot of “Mono Basin stuff.” Let’s start in the foreground with the dry shoreline vegetation adapted to tolerate the salty soil, and the small tufa structures in the water just offshore. The dark form in the distance is Negit Island, one of two volcanic islands in the lake. And in the far distant haze (the haze is also a feature of the place) we see desert mountains rising as the basins and range country of Nevada takes over.


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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Lake, Mountains, and Autumn Aspens

Lake., Mountains, and Autumn Aspens
“Lake, Mountains, and Autumn Aspens” — Colorful autumn aspen trees line the shoreline of an Eastern Sierra lake.

This photograph comes from a popular spot in the Eastern Sierra, along a road that loops out from US 395 south of Lee Vining. While the general area is not my favorite location for photographing fall color, there’s no denying that there are some pretty spectacular vistas here, including along the shore of this lake, a place popular with anglers and people camped at a nearby RV resort. But those trees! And those mountains!

Thinking of this place brings to mind once again the variations in autumn color in the eastern Sierra. This location, being at a somewhat lower elevation and perhaps because it is more affected by high desert climate, tends to see the colors arrive a bit later in the season. Knowing that, as I was starting a long drive back to the Bay Area I swung through here to take a final look before continuing on.


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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Mono Lake, Mountains, Morning

Mono Lake, Mountains, Morning
“Mono Lake, Mountains, Morning” — Early morning autumn light on Mono Lake and distant desert mountains.

Part of the challenge of photographing a familiar subject is finding a different perspective on it. This is especially true with “iconic” subjects that everyone has seen, and which we know by way of familiar views. If you think about any famous place you can probably visualize the scenes I’m thinking of — familiar views of familiar things. (I’m not against them. In fact, it is an interesting challenge to try to make those views different.) There are several familiar approaches to photographing Mono Lake. Yes, I’ve done them, too!

But this is not one of those familiar views. For one thing, the camera position here is not one that most people visiting the lake would think of or even know about. It is a pretty good distance from the lake — in fact the photograph was made with a very long lens. It is also elevated, up in mountains where sage meets aspens. I photographed in the early morning on a clear day, when the low morning sunlight was angling across the landscape from the right.


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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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First Light, Mono Lake

First Light, Mono Lake
“First Light, Mono Lake” — Colorful dawn light over Mono Lake just before the rising sun clears the mountains.

Arising for dawn is a challenge for many people. I understand, but I think the rewards earned by getting up early are worth it — though I do have to remind myself or this sometimes as I contemplate my alarm going off a few hours before sunrise. But once I’m up and on my way, I actually enjoy the entire experience — the pre-dawn travel in darkness, the first glow in the eastern sky, the anticipation as the light builds, the first direct light on peaks, and eventually the sun itself. If you can’t imagine getting up that early, just try it a few times. I suspect you might get hooked.

I was in the Eastern Sierra to photograph fall colors, camped up some high valley on the east side of the range near the entrance to Yosemite National Park. On this morning I ended up at Mono Lake, where I set up and watched as the sky filled with intense color and the first rays of the sun peeked over the distant desert mountains beyond the lake.


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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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