First Light over Mt. Laurel, Convict Lake – Eastern Sierra, California

This is a color version of a similar shot converted to black and white I posted last week. I guess this is a “normal” view of the scene as opposed to the surrealism feel from the previous high contrast b&w version. The two were shot about an hour apart.

Winter sunrise light over Mt Laurel, Convict Lake – Eastern Sierra, California

I meant to post this winter wonderland image of a nearly frozen Convict Lake sooner, but couldn’t find the time …

Last week, I went up the mountains after the recent snow storms. After a day on the slopes with my snowboard, I caught this beautiful sunrise with my camera the next morning. It was a cold morning, -5 F. With snow deep to my thighs, I couldn’t get around the lake perimeter as much as I would have liked. I dug myself a semi igloo, curled up in a ball and enjoyed the prissiness and the quietness of the mountains … deep blue skies of the high sierra, cold mountain air that left me breathless, pristine white powder, soft morning light on the snowy peaks… life is too darn busy, and these beautiful moments are too far and few in between … at times, I felt like I was sitting on the edge of darkness waiting for dawn light …

PS: For a different perspective, here is a nearly identical view that I shot a few years back.

Men’s curiosity searches past and future
And clings to that dimension …
For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight …

The Dry Salvages — T.S. Eliot

Unusual title for this rather dramatic black and white landscape? As I mentioned in my previous post, I slept for a while on the edge of this lake waiting for the light to come through. Although I wrote that the light never came, I did catch a faint brush of light for a few seconds before darkness returned. After the light disappeared, I left my camera alone for the rest of the morning. I watched the clouds moved across the mountain range and contemplated about my relationship with time and my surroundings. Time is the binding force that keeps me from finding myself as I often get lost in my surroundings… past, future, the moment in and out of time, lost in a shaft of sunlight …

Laurel Mountain basking in the early morning light – Eastern Sierra, California

My regular viewers might recognize this view from Convict Lake in the California’s Eastern Sierra. If not, perhaps you’ve seen the Nature Valley Granola bar TV commercial where this location was used as a backdrop?

Last week, a good friend told me that the snow on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain were still good. Needing a short break, I packed my gears and headed to the hills.

On Saturday morning, I spent over two hours on the lake, waiting for the light to break through, but it never did. I lay on a large boulder and dozed off for a while … birds chipping in the woods, creek water running in the distance, clouds rolling by slowly … it was easy to sleep out there on the lake side.

On Sunday morning, I missed the sunrise by a good half an hour and only managed to get a few decent shots of the mountain face glowing in the morning light. The water was incredibly still, providing crystal clear reflections. I wished that I had gotten out there sooner.

Sunrise over Convict Lake – Eastern Nevada, California. [on black]

I’ve been quite busy and can’t post as often as I would have liked. Last week, I rushed my Convict Lake Sunrise image out before I had enough time to go through all the photos from my trip. Had I taken my time, I would have posted this image instead. I like this shot better than the previous for a few reasons: I decided to cut out most of the boring sky and included more foreground. The reflections were much crisper. I also like the slightly darker exposure (1/4s vs 1/3s).

I answered a couple of emails asking whether the reflections in my previous image were real or computer generated. They were real. I don’t add artificial elements in my photos. It was windy, and the lake surface was choppy. This area of the lake had a section of lake bed gravels rising above the water surface, creating natural barrier blocking some of the lake’s outer water movements. Like a beaver, I moved enough gravels and drift woods to completely block off the lake’s current. In the previous shot, the “levee” wasn’t completed, and there were water movements that made the reflections a little softer. In this shot, the water surface had settled nicely.

Rob Hudson noted there is a bit of surrealism in my previous photo. Indeed, I thought about Dali’s famous piece, The Persistence of Memory when I composed these shots. I just couldn’t find a melting clock to hang on the table – so melting snow instead :) Last but not least, as some viewers mentioned, the black and white landscape was inspired by none other than Ansel Adams.

Sunrise over Convict Lake – Eastern Nevada, California. [on black]

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.” — May Sarton

I didn’t want to go too far for a sunrise shoot, so I decided to return to Convict Lake. It was difficult getting up at 5am after riding my heart out the day before, but I eventually made it out to the lake. I sat by the lake side for two hours, enjoying the early morning solitude. There was no other distraction but the soft morning light and the slight breezes dancing with the mountain reflections in the water. View like this made my twelve hours round trip worth every minute.

Last year, I shot a similar photo showing a few fishermen fishing during the early morning hours, Dawn Light over Convict Lake. This time, I decided to do a back and white version. The picnic table in this shot was in the same area that I shot last Fall’s Season Change photo. This empty picnic table in the water might convey a sense of aloneness and isolation, but I love every single minute of my time on the lake. I couldn’t find words more fitting than May Sarton’s quote above, “Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.”

PS: A few folks asked me how was the snow? 65°F on the slopes during the second weekend of May? The snow on Mammoth Mountain was much better than I expected. I rode with two local experts, my good buddy Steve and his friend Chris. They found a couple of smooth and fast runs off Face Lift Express (aka Chair 3).

I’ve been posting too many reds. Here’s something a little cooler: Convict Lake’s foliage with fresh snow. This was shot two months ago. I was hesitant to post this earlier because I didn’t like the original composition. The original shot was much wider that included a portion of a bright sky. After cropping out about 30% of the image, I like it enough to post.

For this shot, the right side of the lake was too bright, and the left side was still in the shadow. I took three exposures, one for the trees, one for the sky, and one for the bright mountain side. My intention was to combine them later, but I just don’t have time to do it yet. This was the shot that I exposed for the sky.

Looking back, I regretted that I left Convict Lake too early. I was working on the shadow side of the lake since sunrise but couldn’t get a shot that I feel print worthy. So I packed up my gears and left for June Lake and McGee Creek. Didn’t get anything outstanding there either. I guess I rushed to too many locations during my first day shooting Fall foliage. Snow during the first week of October is rare in California. I should have stayed put and worked the lake for another hour or so.

Woke up and it was still snowing! Arrived at Convict Lake well before sunrise. Decided to walk along the perimeter of the lake. Fresh snow! Sat on the edge of the lake for a while …

Usually during my six hours drive to Mammoth Mountain, I only had one thing in my mind, fresh powder! During my stay, I’d be on the slopes until the the lift chairs stopped running; then I’d get off the mountain, eat and sleep to recuperate to do it again the next day. Last trip was the first time that I took my time to slow down and looked around for locations to photograph other than just Mono Lake. I’m glad that I did.

One of my Flickr contacts suggested that I should listen to Five For Fighting while driving on US395. I do :) I first heard “100 Years” from an episode of Smallville, and the lyrics really struck a cord in me. The song reminds me that life is too short and too precious to let the days go by. In this photo, those fishermen were out fishing at dawn hoping to catch some trouts just as I was out hoping to catch a beautiful alpenglow over Convict Lake …