Tioga Lake and Mt. Dana at sunrise, Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park

Taken at Tioga Lake, Yosemite National Park, on October 29th, 2010

I generally try to take a zen-like approach to my photography where I calmly survey the scene before me, take my time to find a composition, and then wait for the good light to hit. That was absolutely not the case on this cold October morning. After a 2 am departure and a 4.5 hour manic drive to Yosemite, my friends and I arrived at Tioga pass as the new day was dawning. Leaping out of the warm car into the 15°F chill of daybreak at 10,000 feet, we sprinted down to Tioga Lake, scrambling to find compositions as night turned to day. I was lucky enough to spy this beautiful crack in a rock out in the lake. Gingerly placing a few stepping stones before me, I made my way out to the split rock as the sky filled up with pink and purple light.

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