Robin Black Photography's photostream  

I've been trying for awhile to get a shot that pulls together everything I love so much about the eastern sierra with its dramatic and steep escarpment, and this one comes pretty close. Taken on the north side of the tiny town of Lone Pine, with a high desert elevation of around 4,000 feet, you can see stretching out to the west the Alabama Hills rising up another 2,000-2,500 feet above Lone Pine, and the sierra crest beyond that soaring well over 13,000 feet (with Mt. Whitney, just out of frame to the left, at 14,505'--the highest point in the lower 48 states). The late afternoon light provided great shadow play on the hills and flora.

The only thing missing from the shot to make it really complete are those other critters on the east side that I'm so obsessed with--aspens. ;-)

A fresh (but light) dusting of snow over the eastern sierra, high thin clouds to the west and heavier clouds to the east made for beautiful soft sunrise light over the Owens. As I stood there freezing my arse off thinking soft blue-gray light was going to be all I got on this morning, those high, thin clouds to the west picked up just enough light to glow pink for a couple of minutes. By the time the peaks began to light up, the color diminished and sunrise was over. The rabbitbrush in the foreground and branches of the bare tree are a bit soft thanks to a steady wind--an effect I don't really mind.

Since the national media has suddenly "discovered" the Light-on-Horsetail phenomenon, I thought I'd revisit my shots from last year--there was so little water flowing in the falls that it only picked up the tiniest thread of light, but I made the best of it. You'll notice hints of pink in the sky--that was from an AMAZING sunset going off in the valley everywhere BUT Horsetail, so I bailed on shooting the fall and made a mad dash to Valley View to catch the last of that (if you feel like digging through my stream, you'll find that one).

I was treated to beautiful, soft winter storm light all day Saturday in the Owens Valley--from brooding blue clouds over the peaks, to dramatic sunset light. The storm began to clear just before sunset, making for some amazing light.