Dispatches from the High Sierra (Mammoth, Mono Lake, Death Valley) [www.chrisengholm.com]

February 12, 2008:  Heading to Lake Tahoe area to shoot at dawn from the viewpoint at Emerald Bay, one of my favorite vantage points for landscape photography.  Toting all the gear except 35mm and digital.  Hope to shoot 6×17, 6×12, 4×5, and 6×7 for a gallery show we have planned for next summer titled: “Nature of the West.”  This trip the plan is to start with a work-related meeting in Oakland, then head east to Tahoe for a dawn shoot.  Then meet some friends there for lunch before descending to Minden and south along the Walker River to the Sonora Pass turnoff.  Lovett Meadows should look wonderful at sunset–at least, that’s the hope.  After that it’s Mono Lake and Death Valley.  My inspiration is Shirakawa’s “Eternal America,” his giant book following his spectacular “Himalayas.” He shot with the Pentax 6×7 and his color work of dramatic nature always thrilled me with its gritty texture, polarized color, and deep shadows.

February 13, 2008 ~~ A cold front passed through the Tahoe area tonight and the wind picked up, putting the cabash on the evening shoot at Sandy Bay. I headed south after dark and just arrived at a little hotel in Walker. Snow everywhere. Cold. Nothing open on main street. The plan is to get up before dawn and get down to Mono Lake. Everywhere else is snowed in. The desert areas look like the best bet for this trip. May head over to Death Valley. CE  

February 13, 2008 ~~ The trip took a turn for the better after my last submission. I hunkered down at a little fishing hotel in the town of Walker. Have you been there? It’s a fine little backcountry town on a bend in the Walker River north of Bridgeport about 20 miles. Not much happens there but great fly fishing in late summer after the river calms down. It was a clear starry night when I left at 5am in the morning for Lovett Meadows, but 5 miles south I encounterd snow flurries and high winds. Nobody in their right mind was on the road but a few big rigs. With no chains I considered turning back but the blue dawn breaking urged me ahead to the viewpoint south of Bridgeport overlooking the Mono Lake Basin. Parked there, I nearly lost the front door of the Pathfinder to the wind; the car thermometer read 12 degrees. I bundled up in five layers and set up the 6×7 on a big Gitzo as the blue light of dawn filled the valley below. Mono Lake was laden with snow and the dawn soon revealed peaks whipped into a frenzy of wind-blown snow. (more to come…)

February 14, 2008 ~~ With no one about and fresh snow everywhere, I shot transparencies and 6×17 panoramics along the shores of Mono Lake, with tufa formations towering before me capped with ice. I fell through a snow drift up to my chest and dropped all the gear; luckily the lens caps were on. The temperature was up to 15 degrees as the sun attempted to pierce the blue armor of the dissipating front. Great light everywhere, shifting every few seconds as the breeze whipped the clouds through the sky above. Working fast with three cameras and one tripod, I got off five rolls before trudging back to the car, my hands frozen red. The ‘pink moment’ came and went as I raced up Lee Vining Creek to capture the river meandering beneath the shrouded peaks. Then I headed south on 395 to Mammoth. Along the way, there were a couple of great panoramics and at June Lake I got the cloud shadows racing across the frozen lake. Within 30 minutes the conditions and light had changed — it always amazes me how fast things happen in photography, even nature photography. I felt spent, but knew there was more to capture on this special morning. It was now 7:30am. 

February 15, 2008 ~~ After finding coffee in Mammoth I ventured onto the Owens River basin, completely snow-covered and getting thrashed by 33 mph gusts of 10-degree arctic air. Luckily I had a full-face Gortex head garment and similar long pants; without these the pain of exposure would have prevented shooting in the open. The sun broke through suddenly and the peaks lit up. I captured good panoramics here and on Old Benton Road, (which will be known well to fishermen.) There are great Sierra scenic views all through this area, and along the Rock Creek Road that leaves from Tom’s Cabin. Tip: Get off the 395 as often as you can to find the best vantage points. The meadows along the McGee Creek and along the 395 below Owens Gorge were spectacular in the afternoon sun with the Cattle grazing. In Bishop, I found good views of the peaks along Sunland Road, just south of downtown. There’s an old cemetary there that made a good subject as well. As night fell, the storm clouds were clearing and the drama faded. I vowed to return for the next storm, as I hadn’t had this much excitement in the Sierras in years.

February 16, 2008 ~~ Before describing the dawn shoot in the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, I should mention my visit to the Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop. This is Galen Rowell’s gallery that continues to be a photographic landmark years after his tragic death with his wife in an airplane photographing the Sierras. THIS IS A MUST SEE EXPERIENCE. The gallery occupies the old bank building in the center of town and is chock full of large finely printed Crystal Archive photographs by a number of great landscape photographers. There are books and gifts for sale as well. DO NOT MISS THIS if you are passing through Bishop. It would be a crime to do so.