In a former life, I co-lead several workshops exploring the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains during fall color season. I always enjoyed the variety of scenery along this stretch of highway 395. Massive craggy mountains, high alpine lakes, quaking aspens, babbling brooks, ancient pine trees, and high desert sage brush along the Owens River. Originally, I intended to reacquaint myself with this region in 2025 in an effort to resurrect a workshop this year to mark the ten year anniversary of the last one. But 2025 timing didn’t work out so well. This year was worse, but I made it happen anyway.
Monday, October 5th: Leaving Seattle late morning, I made it to the northeastern part of California for my first night of eleven straight in my new(ish) truck and camper. With gas prices these days, it’s nice to find free places to stay. Estimated trip costs were over $1000 in fuel with $0 in lodging. No photography on the main travel day, but an early start on Tuesday the 6th and I made it to the Mono Lake basin and found some roadside photo ops immediately. Aspen groves in the valley below were isolated using a strong telephoto lens in the 400-500mm range. Catching the last rays of light on selected trees made choosing this first image an obvious choice. At camp, I photographed the milky way and merged it with a landscape captured the next morning, keeping the alignment of the milky way honest.
Wednesday, October 8th: There’s something special about waking up at 7500′ to a clear morning overlooking Mono Lake looking over the Sierra Nevada range and having the place all to yourself. I could have spent the day just taking in the view, but being the first full day of scouting, I was off after coffee and breakfast to explore Virginia Lakes and Lundy Canyon. The road to Virginia Lakes offered some amazing morning back light on some peak aspens. While I have been using the Sony system for the past decade plus, I chose to bring a minimal Canon R5 II setup. Inspired by images I’ve seen of in-camera-multiple exposure, I wanted to try my hand. When you’ve been photographing for over three decades, trying new styles flexes the ol’ creative juices. This image was a mix of two panning ICMs set to lighten blend mode. The patchwork colors gave me a mini-motivational push to keep trying throughout the trip.
For Wednesday’s sunset and astrophotography session, I ventured to the south tufa along the shores of Mono Lake. Inspired by the new-to-me multiple exposure mode, I played with merging water patterns of sunset light. Play time in photography is important, in my opinion, as it opens up the part of the brain that stands in stark contrast to the next image of the milky way over tufa towers. Instead of pre-visualizing exactly how an image will look and following predefined steps to get to an expected end result. After my astro session, I impulsively decided to drive south to get a sunrise over the Hot Creek geothermal area near Mammoth. Post sunrise, I found an empty hot spring for a little morning dip. I’ll spare you the photos of my toes beneath the distant mountains. Scouting continued up to Convict Lake and McGee Creek Canyon.
For Wednesday’s sunset and astrophotography session, I ventured to the south tufa along the shores of Mono Lake. Inspired by the new-to-me multiple exposure mode, I played with merging water patterns of sunset light. Play time in photography is important, in my opinion, as it opens up the part of the brain that stands in stark contrast to the next image of the milky way over tufa towers. Instead of pre-visualizing exactly how an image will look and following predefined steps to get to an expected end result. After my astro session, I impulsively decided to drive south to get a sunrise over the Hot Creek geothermal area near Mammoth.
Thursday, October 8th: Post sunrise, I found an empty hot spring for a little morning dip. I’ll spare you the photos of my toes beneath the distant mountains. Scouting continued up to Convict Lake and McGee Creek Canyon. Eventually, I made my way up to Bishop Creek Canyon where some simply stunning groves of aspens held my attention for much of the afternoon. Patchy clouds kept the light interesting and the wall of color got spotlit in new and interesting ways. Once the sun was gone for good over the ridge behind me, it was time to explore Lake Sabrina for a quick drone session and sunset with some folks fishing nearby.
Friday, October 9th: No trip is complete without a stop at North Lake. An icon in the Bishop area, I almost had the place to myself. Alas, I did need to clone a solitary cell phone photographer out of the larger scene below. Past peak color, no clouds, no snow on the peaks, but still a serene moment and rare to get a mostly still lake (which didn’t last long). Once the sun was up, I stuck around for some telephoto water pattern images and enjoyed the stillness.
Friday night saw me head up into the White Mountains to visit the ancient bristlecone pines. Incoming weather meant windier, colder, and cloudier conditions in the near future and at over 11,000 feet elevation, I wanted to take advantage of the current climate…not freezing cold, windy, etc. Maybe it was the elevation, but I was starting to feel the need for some rest. So while, I enjoyed exploring nearby trees, I didn’t venture too far off the beaten path and decided with the clouds, I wouldn’t stick around for a session under the stars. Still, the pines always deliver with their stark shapes and patterns.
Saturday & Sunday, October 10-11: After leaving the White Mountains, I made the long drive in the dark all the way to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills. Despite, the fatigue, I convinced myself the lower elevation might be a good place to hole up in case the incoming storm actually brought snow (spoiler, it did not). But the boulder fields and views here are top notch. Since my last visit here, the BLM has implemented camping permits. Due to the increase in popularity, they have designated camping sites now. My first morning, I slept in and wound up helping someone whose vintage Jeep failed to start up. A trip into town was an excuse to get a proper coffee shop drink before heading back into the hills until Monday morning. While a storm did sweep through, it only brought clouds and cooler temps, but no snow. Still, I enjoyed revisiting some of locations I made photos back in the early years of my landscape photography journey.
Monday thru Wednesday, October 12-14: I said my farewell to the Alabama Hills and headed back up to the Bishop area to do some more exploring. I revisited some aspens along Bishop Creek Canyon and created an in-camera ICM multiple exposure I am pretty fond of. But I found some beautiful desert brush with the Sierra Nevada in full view in the Buttermilks where I made camp for a couple nights and finally had some relaxation time. I even created an image from my camp chair while enjoying an adult beverage. Living the dream! My final morning, I raced down to Big Pine for sunrise when my camp site was socked in. I decided it was worth the effort to at least “try” and packed up early for the 40 minute drive. Managed to get some decent light before the clouds fully cleared out.
The Last Day Wednesday Night & Thursday Morning, October 14-15th: Alas, the day of the trip. I swung through McGee Creek Canyon one last time on my way north and settled in at the same campsite overlooking the Mono basin from earlier in the trip, creating a nice bookend to the experience. I had almost forgotten the great details in some of the desert plants here, especially some Wright’s buckwheat. I pulled out my macro lens for the first time and found a nice arrangement. The next morning, I set up on a composition I found the night before. Shot a bunch of images, only to have the first light change my mind and make me find another scene with a great zig-zag of golden light. After sunrise, I stopped for one more detail shot of the buckwheat before one last camp coffee and breakfast.
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