Sunrise at the North Shore, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

Sunrise silhouette at the north shore of Mono Lake in Lee Vining.

The first shoot of the first TrekEarth California summit began with a sunrise at Mono Lake near the tiny village of Lee Vining along the Eastern Sierra mountains.

The north shore of Mono Lake features smaller but more numerous tufa formations than the south shore. In this shot you can see the larger south shore tufa in the distance. Mono Lake is also a large rookery for California gulls. It seems difficult to take a picture here without them somewhere in the frame. And here it was no different as you can see a few in the sky.

I'd like to thank the TE members who all traveled a great distance to attend the summit. Your made it a truly memorable weekend. This group was outstanding, all classy, friendly and helpful people.

And who knew taking pictures all day could be so tiring. I think I'll need a few days to recover. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Regards,
Doug

robertosalguero, Floydian, NickVu, jmcl, pboehringer, jwmunro, wishlist, gunbud has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robertosalguero (292) 2007-06-05 1:25

Doug this is awesome. The view at sunset is truly magic. Lovely colours and perspective of this natural time.
It seem that you had a good time in Mono Lake. I can't wait to see the rest of pictures of this beautiful place. Thanks Doug.

Roberto

Floydian (30970) 2007-06-05 4:04

Hi Douglas,
So the group had a nice trip, good to hear that. This place is awesome, and a perfect location for making high class photographs. My 2 day stay in Lee Vining was also a great succes last year, surely a place to visit again.
I know about the seagulls, but i like them in the frame, it gives some notice of life in the picture. The light you captured here is wonderful, a beautiful yellow/orange gradient. From which location is this one taken? I was only at South Tufa, it seems this is somewhere else.
A great shot...pitty i was not there with you...
Regards, Henk

[2] +

marianita (3455) 2007-06-05 4:32

DOuglas,
beautiful tones! lovely sunrise..great reflections
marianna

Cormac (26565) 2007-06-05 10:04

Great shot! The reflection is good, and the rocks in the water add a pattern and breatk up the reflection enough to give some interest there, while still showing the reflection. Great colour too. Well done!

jmcl (14535) 2007-06-05 10:19

Hi Doug,

Great foreground textures .. wondrous golden water .. I love the sun .. nice control .. powerful and not overbearing .... This really communicates the morning ..

take care,

John

pboehringer (770) 2007-06-05 18:23

Douglas, I guess that during our next meeting you will have to teach me the technique to get some shot like this. I tried it so often and never succeeded in shooting into the sun. Certainly the ND grad helps here but there must be more than just that. You captured the real moment that we had at that morning. Lovely detail of the seagulls flying in scarce amount.

jwmunro (286) 2007-06-05 19:41

Hello Doug -

Well done! I like the reflections especially the contrail as it adds some detail in the shadows. I am not sure mine turned out this nice as I must wait until I get home to be sure.

I did sunset at South Tufa on Sunday and got some good images with some nice soft reflections. Joanne and I went into Bridgeport on Sunday and then up to Twin Lakes for a hike to Horse Falls and very powerful fall.

Bravo, Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

stevesieren (787) 2007-06-06 2:44

Hey Doug,
Nice choice in purposely underexposing to keep the color of sunrise in the shot. This makes remember how fast the colors changed from the cool morning pastels to the warm light of morning. Thanks for posting. Take Care, Steve

triptych2003 (1534) 2007-06-06 6:41

hi douglas

there are a lot of things to like about this composition. from the colours, to the light and silhouette, there are many things that are pleasing to me. it's an interesting pov that works well for this shot. well done!

wishlist (4133) 2007-06-06 6:44

Hi Douglas,
stunning shot, absolutely magic! Colours and the natural compo are just superb as well as the definition and details. Great tecnique!!
TFS
Igor

xuaxo (6854) 2007-06-08 17:24

Hi Doug
In yours I prefer the many details.
In Pat's I prefer the colors.
Both are very nice.
F

derek3755 (2341) 2007-06-09 7:23

Hi Douglas

Beautiful Sunrise, nice composition with the smaller mounds of Tufa in the foreground, lovely colours.

glad the meeting went well

Derek

lcarolan (930) 2007-06-10 3:31

Doug,
Very nice capture of both the sky and the reflection in the water! Larry

gunbud (34066) 2007-06-13 21:41

Hi Douglas,
Wonderful reflections in the lake of varying shades of gold. Stunning color and striking silhouettes of the rocks and mountains in the distance.
Regards, Tom

hoorge (1434) 2007-06-14 21:44

What a nice start to a wonderful meeting. Love the silhouette and the golden tones from the early sunlight.