Mono Tufa Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Mono Lake, California

Scene
Sunset on some of the tufa towers along the south shore on Mono Lake. Mono Lake is an alkali lake just east of Yosemite National Park in California. What remains of this lake damaged by the water projects for Los Angles in the early and mid 20th century is a basin of rich aquatic life and bird life. The tufa towers are formed from underground warm springs and the sedimentation of calcium carbonate around the spring vents. I visited here with a TE group two years ago and most of the tufa towers were well into the lake but with several mild winters these same towers are on shore. This series of towers is further east of the South Tufa nature walk and the Naval Beach.

Background
Taking a week long get-away from the heat of the Central Valley I crossed the mountains via Yosemite National Park and set up camp in Lee Vining for several days of photography in Yosemite, Mono Lake, and Bodie State Park before heading south to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest near Bishop, California, to view trees that were mature when Jesus walked the Holy Land.

feather, crhieatt, plimrn, pauloog, asajernigan, gunbud, yquem46, Bruno40, xuaxo, kiks, Didi, avene has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

crhieatt (5143) 2009-08-11 13:27

Hello John,

Nice to see you are out and about in this fabulous part of California. :-)

This is a nice Mono Lake shot - very natural look - but I can't look at a shot of this place without remembering that when I visited - many years ago - whilst the photos looked beautiful, we were completely battered by a constant and freezing June wind. Oh, my bones can still remember it a decade later.

Cheers
Colin

p.s. blob in sky, just west of tallest tower - dust on sensor?

feather (49858) 2009-08-11 13:33

Beautiful shot John with the late light on the tufas and creating a sheen on the water. I love reflections and you have some great rippled ones here. Well done
Kath

guillaumejm (9052) 2009-08-11 13:38

hello
Strange atmosphere!. look like giants pop corn going along on water ......:).
Best regards
JMarc

LOOOK13 (2774) 2009-08-11 13:46

Salut.Tres beau cliché , avec un beau reflet et de belles couleurs.Beau contraste entre ce bleu et blanc.On dirait du Pop Corn en ebulition.Bravo.

cd70 (711) 2009-08-11 14:14

Hi John,
quelle belle vue ! ces roches semblent flotter sur l'eau de façon irréelle. La lumière rasante accentue en plus le graphisme de ta composition.
Encore bravo !

pauloog (6436) 2009-08-11 15:02

Hello john,
A surrealistic unearthy view, well brought in clear beautiful colours, with light well managed to keep all details on the white towers.
A pleasure to look at.
Regards,
Paul

erdna (5348) 2009-08-11 16:01

An impressive shot of this lake that looks like it is being punished by God. I like the crispness of your lines and well chosen station point.

Andre'

asajernigan (14094) 2009-08-11 16:32

John,
This is a well composed shot shot of these unique rock formations. The reflection adds excellent depth and balance for the scene. The off center placement of the main formation works well drawing the eye across the frame to the main subject. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

Waylim (10741) 2009-08-11 17:05

Hi John,
This is a very nice shot, this makes me wish to revisit this place, Last time I was here, was before my digital camera day. Excellent POV here, for a very nice composition of both the tufa as well as the distant landscape. The late afternoon light is still a bit too srong for the larger tufa is a tiny bit over exposed but the rough texture of it is very well defined and the reflection so rich in color and pattern that is memerizing. Very good work. Not enough beautiful photographs represented here on TE, the beauty of California and its diverse landscape in my opinion. Thanks John for this one.
Way

gunbud (27801) 2009-08-11 21:28

Hi John,
Stunning shot of this beautifully unique lake.
Love the richly textured salty rock revlecting in the vivid blue lake.
The background sky is full of depth as it reaches towards the distant hills.
Regards, Tom

Urs (2786) 2009-08-11 22:35

A really stunning photo, congrats John, that is a very beautiful scenery. The contrast of the white of tufa towers and the blue of the sea and sky are great. It looks like a picture of another planet. Also the clouds are very nice. Sharpness and DOF are perfect. The only but is, I'm not sure if the horizon is a bit tiled to the right. Otherwise well done

Best regards
Urs

HimalAnda (1054) 2009-08-11 23:05

Hello John

What a strange place ! Thank you for showing us these amazing rocks.
The colors are great and your composition is very good (I like the reflection on the water).

Stéphane

yquem46 (7842) 2009-08-12 1:30

Hi John
An incredible place and your shot is splendidly composed
never thought this could be in california, maybe I'd have bet on yellowstone
Quite in the spirit of TE
Bravo
patrick

Bruno40 (6440) 2009-08-12 6:29

Hi John,
Quite nice shot. Although I ahve never been there, this scene reminds me Atacama desert.
Good level of details and nice colors.
I wonder if you have a dust in the sensor.. you mention in the disussioon that it is a bird.. maybe with compression became like a dust..
is teh horizon tilted, or visual effect.
Very interesting note
cheers and good job
Jorge

Wandering_Dan (3213) 2009-08-13 19:27

Hi, John -

Very strong photo of Mono Lake, I think from a spot a bit east of the usual crowd? (Reread your note and I was right.) The light and the reflections are excellent. Nicely evocative.

Best,
Dan

PS: As I recall, LADWP has agreed to cut back on draining the lake, and it is starting to recover.

plimrn (19602) 2009-08-13 21:28

Hi John,
I especially like the way the late light turns the reflection golden and the open feeling from the broad skyline/cloudscape.

It sure HAS changed.
HLJ, Pat

xuaxo (5705) 2009-08-14 6:21

Hi John
Great, sharp view of this amazing place.
Greetings,
F.

baba_flies (7975) 2009-08-17 3:18

Hello John! You are so lucky to leave your home and finally land in a place like this one. What a strange place and yet so totally beautiful. Not from this world :))) I almost prefer this late afternoon light to the early morning hour, everything seems so much stronger, the dark blue of the water is just beautiful and gives a great contrast to the white of tufa towers. Great shot, John! Have a wonderful week, Barbara.

kiks (6053) 2009-08-20 15:00

Strange and beatiful landschae! i like very much the way you compose it with the low POV and of center.
Best regards
Kiks

Didi (36064) 2009-08-21 13:50

Hi John
View from another planet ! That's great !
I like this crisp and sharp rocks.
Very good deep foreground, very fantastic place.
Best regards

avene (10944) 2009-09-03 5:56

hi John,
this is so spooky, like a scene from another planet, and with all these strange shapes and reflections the place must be paradise for photographers :) I like your photo a lot, the smaller tufa pieces in the foreground nicely lead the eye towards the towers on the right. I have to see this place with my own eyes :)

best,
Kristine

batalay (20876) 2009-09-09 22:09

Hello John,

I've seen many photographs of Lake Mono, but none so intriguing with the tufa towers, appearing like giant pumice formations. Excellent note to inform the subject. Warm regards,

Bulent

stego (22350) 2009-11-06 12:44

Hi John,
This lake must be a madness to every landscape photographer. As usual it is very well composed and exposed, offering a real delight to the eye. I like how you manage to lead the eye to the twin rocks near the center, although the bigger rock and its reflection also ask for much attention.
Regards,
José