Minaret Starburst

Minaret Vista, Mammoth Lakes, CA Stopping down my wide angle lens provided this "starburst" as the sun set behind the gorgeous Minaret Vista in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas, near Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Golds and Evergreens

Hope Valley, CA About a half hour south of Lake Tahoe, Hope Valley showcases outstanding aspen fall color. This shot was done using a telephoto lens across the valley, to showcase a brilliant groove of aspens at peak color.

Autumn Splendor

North Lake Tahoe, CA The forests north of Lake Tahoe turn wonderful shades of green, yellow, and orange as the setting sun streams through the aspens. I framed the aspens and all other elements to draw the eye towards the sun shining in the background.

Wild River

Hope Valley, CA I noticed this shot walking along the river and then proceeded to contort myself and place my tripod precipitously atop a wet rock in the middle of the river. After a half hour or so of trying different compositions, I ended up with this keeper and a bit of a sore back.

Fire Over the Minarets

Minaret Vista, Mammoth Lakes, CA A summer sunset lights up the fast moving high altitude clouds above the rugged minarets.

Sierra Foothills Sunset

Sequoia National Park, CA On a work trip to the central valley, I snuck away for the evening to shot a spectacular sunset in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Sequoia National Park. This rock filled with colorful "lichens" provided a nice object of focus.

For Galen

Outside Bishop, CA Most nature photographers know Galen Rowell and his Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop, CA. He often captured sunsets in the Owens Valley like this one, featuring sierra "wave clouds", high altitude clouds that catch the last of sunset light to explode with color as shown here.

Purple Mono Sunset

Mono Lake, CA In the high desert of the Eastern Sierra Nevadas, Mono Lake is filled with white salt formations that provide excellent compositional subjects underneath the purple sunset clouds of a warm summer dusk.

Milky Way Over the Tufas

Mono Lake, CA The Milky Way shines brightly in the darkness of the Eastern Sierras at Mono Lake. I "light painted" the tufa formations with a small flashlight to provide the foreground detail.

Milky Way Over the Tufas, II

Mono Lake, CA The Milky Way shines brightly over the tufa formations of Mono Lake on a crisp spring night.

Under Giants

Inyo National Forest, CA The Eastern Sierras showcase a colorful display of aspens underneath dramatic granite peaks in one of the many canyons between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, CA.

Black and White (and yellow and orange...)

North Fork, Bishop Creek Canyon, Eastern Sierras, CA Colorful aspen grooves sparkle underneath the rugged peaks of the Eastern Sierras. This period, in early October, is a wonderful time to visit the Eastern Sierras, usually just before the first winter storm drops a few inches of the season's first snow.

Early Morning Sunshine

Inyo National Forest, CA The morning sun breaks through a pine forest in the Inyo National Forest, near Mammoth Lakes, CA. A sunstar effect was created by stopping my lens down to refract the direct sunlight.

Flowing Through Time

McGee Creek, Eastern Sierras, CA McGee Creek is a lovely creek running down an alpine canyon, featuring a riparian habitat of aspen and cottonwood trees that glow golden yellows and bright oranges during the brief autumn period each year in early October.

Transience

McGee Creek, Eastern Sierras, CA Yellow aspen and cottonwood leaves collect behind a granite rock in McGee Creek, during an Eastern Sierra autumn.

Dissipating Fire Over the Minarets

Minaret Vista, Mammoth Lakes, CA A summer sunset lights up the fast moving high altitude clouds above the rugged minarets.

Mono-chrome

Mono Lake tufas, Eastern Sierras, CA A purple twilight sky glows above the white "tufa" formations on the shores of Mono Lake, just east of the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Granite Moonscape

Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, CA A famous viewpoint for watching the sunset over the endless miles of granite stretching into the valley below, Olmsted Point offers a gorgeous view of the moon rising opposite half dome, bathed in the purple tinge of twilight.

High Country Splendor

from the top of Mount Hoffman, Yosemite National Park, CA A relatively short but vigorous hike to the summit of Mount Hoffman (10,856') rewards one with 360 degree views of the alpine granite mountains above the Yosemite treeline. Just be careful hiking down (I got lost along the way for about 15 minutes!).

Self Portrait

Mineral King Valley, Sequoia National Park, CA Risking a lightning strike on this stormy afternoon in the Mineral King Valley, I perched atop a granite boulder to capture this reflective self-portrait, which was intended to capture the meditative quality of the Sierra Nevada high country.

Older than God

Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, CA These incredible trees are literally thousands of years old, some stretching back into the B.C. era. This tree is likely over 4,000 years old.

Bristlecone Complexity

Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, CA These incredible trees are literally thousands of years old, some stretching back into the B.C. era. Their trunks are incredibly dense, twisted, and knotted, as seen in this close up wide angle view of a Bristlecone pine tree.

Owens Valley in Winter

near Bishop, CA Bright morning light shines on the high desert shrubs of the Owens Valley below the dramatic peaks of the Inyo range.

Tree on Fire

Yosemite National Park, CA A pine trees filters the setting sun surrounded by Sierra granite and the miles of evergreen trees filling the Yosemite valley below. Taken from a turn-off of the famous Tioga Pass Road.

Daynight

Yosemite National Park, CA The moon rises above a late-evening summer sunset in Yosemite National Park, a few steps from Tioga Pass Road.

Mineral King Moonrise

Sequoia National Park, CA The moon rises over the alpine peaks of the Mineral King Valley, deep within Sequoia National Park.

Reproduction

Yosemite National Park, CA These tiny little pinecones will grow up to be the monstrous alpine trees of Yosemite National Park.

Lunar Landscape

Yosemite National Park, CA The moon rises over the granite mountains and rugged trees of the Yosemite high country, in a telephoto shot from Olmsted Point.