Up here in the Sierra’s we seldom have time to visit the beach. Dad and i have been going to Mono Lake looking for birds for the last few summers chasing the Violet Green Swallows and Sage Thrashers, but for the first time in a while we went down to enjoy the scenery and not the local species. Real mind flip walking around with a 24-70 on my shoulder and not a 600, having to watch the light on the Tufa’s to get to the right spot. This one cove was of particular interest to everyone and for good reason. It had great light and a great reflection, which made for and amphitheater of opportunities. Mono being as big as it is, is never the same in one place or contains the same Tufa’s.
Around another corner of the lake, down a different dirt road leads us to more adventure. This time with Sand Tufa’s, the remnants of the high tides that the lake once rested at but are no longer seen. With great skies covering the area down to the pillars, we began our march to more opportunities and images awaiting for the plucking.
These Tufa’s are only about waste high, and are more fragile than any other around the lake. We walk through them like walking through a valley of collasping stone. Photographing them can be done in many ways, everything from the intricate details of the cracks in the rock itself to the multiple ones around. With the sky we lucked out with there was only one way to shoot, good clouds are a shame to waste. The sun popped in and out, lighting up areas clouds then fading. It never fully came out from behind the clouds permanently. We knew it was time to go when the call of pancakes was sounded, kinda flat call but then how do you play a pancake?
Images captured with D3, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film