Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Sunlight illuminates submerged boulders near the cliff face at a lake on the High Sierra Trail – Sequioa National Park.
I first visited this lake decades ago during a two-week trans-Sierra backpack trip along the High Sierra Trail. I recall arriving and recognizing it from a well-known 1932 Ansel Adams photograph, but I made no serious attempt to photograph it at the time. In the summer of 2008 I retraced the route with a group of friends, and on the third morning I again climbed the spectacular trail toward Kaweah Gap. After crossing a lovely section filled with springs, flowing water, and wildflowers the trail topped a rise and suddenly arrived at this lake. I spent a half hour or more photographing from the shoreline. Finally I finished, packed up my photography gear, and we started up the switchbacks toward the pass.
A moment later as the trail climbed above the lake I glanced back and saw a stunning sight as sun broke through the clouds and intermittently illuminated the submerged talus at the base of the cliffs. Ironically, my first reaction was to think, I just finished shooting, and I’m not going to take this pack off and set up all that gear again!” I almost kept going. Fortunately, I’ve learned my lesson a few times — shoot it now while you have the chance! — so I dropped my pack, set up my tripod and camera, and waited for the right light to appear as broken clouds moved overhead.
Notes:
- I wrote an article about making this photograph in my “A Photograph Exposed” series.
- This photograph was originally titled “Submerged Boulders, Precipice Lake”
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.