Besides the 60 seconds of decent light, Mono Lake was more of a study of shadows and light. Part of the beauty of digital cameras is the ability to switch the LCD output to black and white (B/W) so that you can evaluate your concept for a photograph beyond the visualization in your head.
Of course if you shoot in RAW format (which you should always be doing anyways) the camera records all of the color information to the file anyway, just in case.
I frequently will shoot in B/W mode; sometimes out of necessity, like when the lighting and the sky just can’t convey what you’re trying to capture, and sometimes just for “fun” to force myself to think in terms of shades and contrasts of light.
Several times some of those photos still look better in vivid color. So it’s good to keep all the data and see what it looks like on something bigger than a 2 to 3-inch wide screen.
Anyway, after the sub-minute fireworks show of sunlight had come and gone, it was time to work with what we had left.
This photo, like the other two, was taken at the southern shore of Mono Lake. The view is projecting towards the northwest with the sun rising to the southeast.
Not long after this shot the sun rose up behind the clouds and disappeared for the rest of our time there.
So soon after, we disappeared from the high plains desert, heading to points west. I hope you enjoy.
- Canon 5d Mk II, ISO 100, Canon 16-35L MkII @ 16 mm, f13, 1/20 sec., CPL filter
