Midnight in the Garden of Good and Tufa

[av_hr class=’invisible’ height=’10’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ av_uid=’av-3qrkze’][av_heading heading=’Behind the scenes of this photo’ tag=’h3′ color=’custom-color-heading’ custom_font=’#949494′ style=’blockquote classic-quote’ size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ padding=’0′ av_uid=’av-2xqhiy’][/av_heading]
Taken at Mono Lake South Tufa, Eastern Sierra Nevada, on September 26th, 2013

Well, it was more like 9:30pm, but who’s counting? Most of the Eastern Sierra can be relied upon to provide the nocturnal photographer with extremely dark, clear skies. Mono Lake is no exception to that rule and on a night in late September my camera and I spent some time wandering among the tufa. The stars blazed brightly above and the Milky Way could be seen easily with the naked eye. The tail end of a Sierra snowstorm lingered to the west and those patchy clouds provided additional depth to the scene. After wending my way to my favorite patch of tufa I set up right under two prominent towers, using their dramatic, looming forms to create a window into the stars beyond.

View more breathtaking Sierra Nevada photos here.