With two wonderful and highly successful legs already completed we left Bishop and headed further north. Our travel day was a big day for photography with a lot of very exciting stops planned.
But before heading out, here are the links to the first two legs in case you missed them.
Eastern Sierra Workshop: Leg 1 – Lone Pine
Eastern Sierra Workshop: Leg 2 – Bishop
For our sunrise shoot I had planned to photograph the snow clad mountains from the Alkali Ponds just north of Lake Crowley. It was going to be a 45 minute drive and we wanted to arrive at 5:00 so you can do the math.
The Alkali Ponds are a small part of a much larger geothermal area. They are located in Long Valley which at 20 miles long and 11 miles wide is actually one of the largest calderas on the planet. It was only 760,000 years ago that it erupted, sending ash as far away as Wyoming and South Dakota. So it’s no surprise that there are still many geothermal features in the valley, In fact the Alkali Ponds are directly downstream from Hot Creek.
We arrived to a glorious sight, the snow clad mountains reflected in the calm, still waters of the large Alkali Pond. It was well before sunrise so the scene was drenched in a soft blue. Soon the sun would rise and transform this scene in to a glorious shade of gold.
From a very satisfying sunrise at Alkali Ponds we returned to our cars and drove the short distance to Hot Creek. I’ve viewed Hot Creek from this vantage point many times but never in the wonderful early morning light like this.
I was delighted that we arrived while the stream itself was still in shadow. It caught the blue of the sky and made a shining meandering path through the gorge. The hot spring itself was clearly visible with a pillar of steam drifting in the still, clear morning air.
From here we headed up to the June Lake loop to photograph Carson Peak in the morning light.
The fishermen were already out, tempting the trout by flicking flies with barbed stingers across the surface of the water. If you look closely you can see Horsetail Falls next to Carson Peak.
After checking in to our hotel in Lee Vining we had time for more photography so we went out to the De Chambeau farm north of Mono Lake.
This farm was bustling during the glory days of Bodie, providing the thriving city with food. Now, what’s left are are a few boarded up building that give a hint of what it must have been like back in the 1870s and 80s.
The evening shoot was at Mono Lake.
I was filled with joy when we arrived at the shore at South Tufa. The water level was up! Los Angeles diverts most of the water that flows into Mono Lake. But a plan is in place to restore the lake to 1957 levels. While progress has been made there’s still a long way to go. And the lake level has actually been down the past five years or so. So it was so exciting to see the water level coming back up. Now some of the tufa spires that were exposed to the inconsiderate boots of thoughtless and ignorant people are protected by water.
The day ended with a very peaceful moment, much the same way it began. What a wonderful ending to such a beautiful and exciting day.
For our last morning we returned to Mono Lake. It began much the same way as the previous day started and ended, with a quite, contemplative dawn.
But soon the morning sun rose on a jumbled forest of tufa.
There’s still the morning shoot at Bodie but I’m going to save that for one last post, there’s been so many great moments in this post.
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So, stick around for Bodie. I’ll give you a hint. I’ve never had so much fun shooting at Bodie as I did on this trip. Stay tuned.
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