I Just Love Happy Endings

Autumn Morning, North Lake, Eastern Sierra
Sony a7R III
Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM
1/4 second
F/16
ISO 100

By the time I made it to North Lake for sunrise, I’d already had a trying morning. After some frustrations with the cars, my Eastern Sierra workshop group had gotten on the road about five minutes later than I’d planned. Fortunately I always schedule a little wiggle room, so we were on track, but still…. Then, just a couple of miles before the turn-off to the lake, I had to swerve to avoid a grapefruit-sized rock in the road, barely avoiding it. Phew. But the middle car in our mini-caravan wasn’t so lucky: Flat tire. Crap.

This year’s group had 13 people (including Don Smith, who was assisting, and me), but this little mishap suddenly dropped us to two cars (10 seats), with sunrise rapidly approaching. Surveying the damage, I decided that rather than make everyone wait, we could still cram all but three of us into the two remaining cars. I sent them up to the lake in Don’s care while I stayed behind with the unfortunate couple and their wounded car. Once everyone was situated at the lake, Don agreed to return in case we weren’t able to replace the tire.

Don pulled up about 20 minutes later, just as I put the finishing touches on the miniature spare. After a brief discussion we decided it wouldn’t be wise to take that (poor excuse for a) tire on the unpaved North Lake road, so the couple decided to return to Bishop to get their tire replaced. Since that would leave us with 11 people to transport with the two remaining cars, Don volunteered to return with them to Bishop while I drove up to North Lake to meet the group.

So I was pretty much worn out by the time I parked, hefted my camera bag onto my back, and started the short walk down to the lake. Making it to the lakeshore right around “official” sunrise, the scene that greeted me was an instant jolt of energy. In nature photography you do your best to time your visit for the best possible conditions, but ultimately have to deal with whatever you’re dealt. The variables we cross our fingers for at North Lake are good color, a crisp reflection, and nice clouds. We hit the trifecta this morning, with peak color from top to bottom across the lake (and everywhere else), water like glass, and a sublime mix of swirling clouds and blue sky. An unexpected bonus was the relatively small number of photographers competing for space at this always popular autumn sunrise spot.

One of the things I like most about North Lake is the variety of fall color here, a rare sight in California. The trees on the slope are a mix of orange and red, while those lining the lake are always vivid yellow. I’ve photographed North Lake a lot over the years, and my own photography during a workshop is never my priority, so I rarely photograph here anymore. But this morning was special and I couldn’t resist, so as I moved around to everyone in the group I found time to fire off a few frames of my own.

The background of the image I share here is a version of the broader, more conventional scene that is usually the starting point for a North Lake fall color composition. (In future posts I’ll share one or two others that I think capture the less obvious essence of the scene.) As always, I worked to find a foreground that complemented the primary scene, finally settling on the tall grass as a frame for the reflection and the the scene beyond—I thought the grass added just enough detail without distracting.) I liked the clouds, but the color was long gone by the time I was able to photograph, so I decided not to include too much sky. Finishing the scene off, I panned left to include a tall, yellow aspen for the left side of my frame. I composed, metered, and focused at eye level, but to get as much reflection as possible, before clicking I elevated my RRS TVC-24L tripod (I love having a tall tripod) to its maximum height, then used the tilting LCD on my Sony a7RIII to restore the composition I’d identified.

Given the way things started out, it would have been very easy to just pack it in and write the morning off as a loss. But despite the difficulties, this turned out to be a wonderful morning of photography for everyone. Just one more reminder that the happiest endings often start with a little hardship.

Eastern Sierra Photo Workshop

Why I Love the Eastern Sierra

Click an image for a closer look and slide show. Refresh the window to reorder the display.

Alpenglow, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra

Eastern Sierra Fall Color photo workshop

Before Sunrise, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, California

Fall Into Winter, Whitney Portal Fall

Moonlight, Whitney Arch, Alabama Hills, California

New Day, Mono Lake

Fallen Color, Rock Creek Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Aspen, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Autumn Morning, North Lake, Eastern Sierra

Big Dipper, Alabama Hills, California

Morning Reflection, Mono Lake

Goodbye Moon, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, California

Star Trails, Bristlecone Pine Forest, California

Autumn Light, North Lake, Eastern Sierra

Morning Like Glass, Mono Lake

Mono Moonrise, South Tufa, Mono Lake

Autumn on Ice, Whitney Portal Fall

Moonset, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, California

Bristlecone Nightfall, Schulman Grove, White Mountains, California

Milky Way and Meteor, Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California

Leaves and Reflection, Convict Lake, Eastern Sierra

Mountain Moonlight, Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak, Alabama Hills, California

Big Picture, South Tufa, Mono Lake

Bristlecone Moonrise, Patriarch Grove, White Mountains, California

Bristlecone Night, Milky Way from the White Mountains, California

Aspen Abstract, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Aspen in Autumn, Bishop Creek Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Winter Dawn, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, California

Daybreak, Mono Lake, Eastern Sierra, California

Tree at Sunset, McGee Creek Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Whitney Arch Moonset, Alabama Hills, California

Before the Sun, South Tufa, Mono Lake

First Light, Lone Pine Peak and Mt. Whitney, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra

Autumn Reflection, North Lake, Eastern Sierra