Mt. Ritter | Thousand Island Lake

Thousand Island Lake has been one of my favorite lakes in the Eastern Sierra since my first backpacking trip there five years ago. I had hiked and backpacked it several times before, but never ventured farther into the basin nor attempted to create a timelapse of the lake and the peaks. So, I was quite stoked about this particular photography trip, and, most of all, I really wanted to immerse myself in the wilderness while capturing the beauty that this part of the Eastern Sierra had to offer.

My original plan was to enter via Rush Creek and make a loop around Gem Lake, Waugh, Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake. But while going up, first, there were several snow packs that were melting fast and slowed me down quite a bit. On top of that, my heavy camera gear (two full frame cameras, two tripods, five lenses, two solar panels, etc.) weighed me down. So, I changed the plan and decided to focus on one subject - Mt. Ritter, Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake. To get different angles and perspectives, I spent days and nights around the lake (only two nights are permitted at the lake) but also at Island Pass, from which I still cherished a fantastic view of the peak and the lake, and somewhere in between.

In spite of constant gales of winds, I was lucky enough to have the calm water for the first two nights, resulting in mesmerizing visuals of the heavenly body and its reflections at night. I had specifically planned this trip with the new moon in mind, but the astonishing images of the Milky Way rising over the lake and the peaks were beyond what I had hoped for.

The snow clad peaks were quite pleasing to my eye. The sky was lacking clouds most of the time on my trip, but there were some clumps of clouds that lingered for some time in one afternoon, and I didn’t pass it up. For the last two nights the galaxy rose over the lake and peaks in the clear night skies as expected, but the winds stirred the water so much, and it was a good reminder that I was really lucky on the first two nights.

On my way in via Rush Creek Trailhead earlier, I came across the spectacular view of Carson Peak and Rush Creek Falls, so I promised to myself that I would capture the Milky Way rising over the peak and the waterfalls as well as sunrise when I was done with the trip. And that is exactly what I did. In order to capture both but to avoid hiking up and down over a mile (1.25 miles) in the dark, I brought my sleeping bag and slept there. And it was worth every step that I took.

Thousand Island Lake, CA

https://youtu.be/C9u79TwSccA

#A7III, #Canon, #timelapse, #sunset, #sunrise, #adventure, #backcountry, #clouds, #dramatic, #dusk, #EasternSierra, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #mountains, #nature, #outdoors, #seekingsolitude, #SierraNevada, #snowcladmountains, #Sony, #SonyAlpha, #sunset, #sunsetglow, #tranquility, #wilderness, #astrophotography, #5DMarkIII, #galaxy, #stars, #MtRitter, #BannerPeak, #ThousandIslandLake, #IslandPass, #RushCreekFalls, #CarsonPeak, #CanonEOS

Willy Wonka came to mind

Once I got the shots of Mt. Agassiz and Bishop Pass together, I walked further around Long Lake. I soon arrived at a spot where Chocolate Peak came into a full view. Till that moment, I had not made the connection as to why the peak was called Chocolate Peak. Contrary to the pale and dark grey colors of the adjacent higher peaks, however, this short peak was painted in milk chocolate. Willy Wonka came to mind for a sec. In the company of clouds, the reflection of the peaks looked quite promising for the next shot.

Long Lake, CA

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#adventure, #bushes, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #ChocolatePeak, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #grass, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #log, #longexposure, #LongLake, #mirrorlike, #mountainview, #mountains, #MtAgassiz, #nature, #outdoors, #pines, #seekingsolitude, #shrubs, #SierraNevada, #tranquility, #water, #wilderness

https://www.hpeterjiphotography.com/Landscapes/Landscapes/i-N6Gb89s/A

adventure, bushes, California, California landscape, CanonEOS, Chocolate Peak, clouds, Eastern Sierra, grass, landscape, landscape photography, log, long exposure, Long Lake, mirror like, mountain view, mountains, Mt. Agassiz, nature, outdoors, pines, seeking solitude, shrubs, Sierra Nevada, tranquility, water, wilderness

Willy Wonka came to mind

Once I got the shots of Mt. Agassiz and Bishop Pass together, I walked further around Long Lake. I soon arrived at a spot where Chocolate Peak came into a full view. Till that moment, I had not made the connection as to why the peak was called Chocolate Peak. Contrary to the pale and dark grey colors of the adjacent higher peaks, however, this short peak was painted in milk chocolate. Willy Wonka came to mind for a sec. In the company of clouds, the reflection of the peaks looked quite promising for the next shot.

Long Lake, CA

https://www.hpeterjiphotography.com/Landscapes/Landscapes/i-N6Gb89s/A

#adventure, #bushes, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #ChocolatePeak, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #grass, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #log, #longexposure, #LongLake, #mirrorlike, #mountainview, #mountains, #MtAgassiz, #nature, #outdoors, #pines, #seekingsolitude, #shrubs, #SierraNevada, #tranquility, #water, #wilderness

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adventure, bushes, California, California landscape, CanonEOS, Chocolate Peak, clouds, Eastern Sierra, grass, landscape, landscape photography, log, long exposure, Long Lake, mirror like, mountain view, mountains, Mt. Agassiz, nature, outdoors, pines, seeking solitude, shrubs, Sierra Nevada, tranquility, water, wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

I just kept it to myself

I realized that the northwest corner of Long Lake was the best vantage point to capture both Mt. Agassiz and Bishop Pass and their reflections. The lake wasn’t always calm because the wind blew intermittently. But I was able to catch some moments where the water seemed still. Except for the clouds flowing across it. The sun shone through rather sporadically. I was just glad that it wasn’t raining. From where I was, I could see day hikers and backpackers rambling along the main trail. Even a couple of trail runners. Yet I was thinking to myself only if they knew how beautiful this part of the lake also was. Well, I just kept it to myself.

Long Lake, CA

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#adventure, #BishopPass, #bushes, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #grass, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #log, #longexposure, #LongLake, #mirrorlike, #mountainview, #mountains, #MtAgassiz, #nature, #outdoors, #pines, #seekingsolitude, #shrubs, #SierraNevada, #tranquility, #water, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

Stark juxtaposition

One of the sights that pleasantly surprised me on my way was the abundant amount of wildflowers along the trail, which came in all different colors, shapes and sizes. When I arrived at this particular section of Bishop Pass Trail, Bishop Pass, one of the most popular passes in the Eastern Sierra, came into view for the first time. And Mt. Agassiz to its right immediately steered my gaze away from the pass. The peak looked quite taller than I originally imagine. And even later when I reached the pass, I was quite stunned by how massive the peak looked in its overwhelming presence. The stark juxtaposition of the colorful wildflowers in the foreground against the above treeline mountain backdrop pleased my eye. And believe me. The barren upclimb looked quite inviting as the trail that had led me to this point.

Bishop Pass Trail, CA

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#A7III, #abovetreeline, #adventure, #BishopPass, #BishopPassTrail, #California, #Californialandscape, #clouds, #earth, #EasternSierra, #grass, #hiking, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #mountains, #nature, #outdoors, #overcast, #pines, #plants, #rocks, #seekingsolitude, #SierraNevada, #Sony, #SonyAlpha, #trail, #tranquility, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

Even my fingers prickled

The rain that continued into late night prevented me from capturing the Milky Way. Thankfully it was no longer raining when I woke up. I grabbed my gear and headed down to the shore that I had scouted the day before. The soil was still wet. I love those early morning walks in the forest. As the damp air was filling up my lungs, I could feel that even my fingers prickled from such intakes of fresh air. While watching the trout ripples stir the water, I composed my shot and waited. As expected, the sunrise glow was cast along the ridge line.

South Lake, CA

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#adventure, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #granite, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #longexposure, #mountainview, #mountains, #nature, #outdoors, #reflection, #rocks, #seekingsolitude, #SierraNevada, #SouthLake, #sunrise, #sunriseglow, #tranquility, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

Took one last look

I really wanted to take as many photos as I could while hiking the loop around Chocolate Peak, consisting of Ruwau Lake, Chocolate Lakes and Bull Lake. But I knew I didn’t have a whole lot of time. Besides, raining was imminent. So, I reluctantly headed up the steep section of the trail, which then evened out as it got closer to Ruwau Lake. What greeted me though was the stunning sight of Mt. Agassiz, which was literally dropping straight into the water. All of a sudden, I was quite stoked to be there. The wind frequently died down, so I was able to capture the clear reflection of the mountain. Part of me knew that I could finish the loop, but I also would’ve wanted to spend so much time doing long exposure at each lake, which means my return to South Lake for sunset would’ve been jeopardized. I took one last look and wavered to pack up and head back to the main trail.

Ruwau Lake, CA

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#adventure, #bushes, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #grass, #lakeoutlet, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #logs, #longexposure, #mirrorlike, #mountainview, #mountains, #MtAgassiz, #nature, #outdoors, #pines, #plants, #seekingsolitude, #shrubs, #SierraNevada, #tranquility, #trees, #water, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

How to strike cool pose

Tiffany, IG: @tiffany.villarreal, amazing Los Angeles based singer, and I had another great session over a couple of weeks ago. Our playground was a few different wall art spots along Melrose Avenue, including that @Instagram popular Hello wall. However, it turned out that it was replaced with a new piece of wall art a month ago. Across the little street from it, though, this very simple pink wall with the empty parking lot (early Saturday morning) caught my eye. I couldn’t pass up a great opportunity to take advantage of her red overall outfit. Because the wall art is simple, it was all about her expressions and postures, and I loved that. How to strike a cool pose came naturally to this awesome singer.

Los Angeles, CA

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#beautiful, #blackshoes, #Canon, #CanonEOS, #concretefloor, #female, #gallery, #glancing, #hair, #handonwaist, #Latina, #longhair, #lookingoffcamera, #lookingon, #LosAngeles, #MelroseAvenue, #model, #modelinLosAngeles, #modeling, #overall, #parkinglot, #pink, #pinkwall, #portrait, #portraitphotography, #pose, #posing, #pretty, #red, #shoelaces, #shoes, #singer, #strikingapose, #wallart, #woman, #womaninred

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Flowing scary fast

The sky was never clear of the clouds. In fact, moments of sprinkling lightly continually came and went, and I kept finding myself retrieving my poncho, thinking that it may turn into a downpour. But it held off pretty well at least till I reached Bishop Pass. One of the places I explored was Long Lake, which was almost a mile long and sat right by the trail. But I wasn’t interested in the view from the trail side. What I wanted to see was other views that each corner of the lake had to offer, in conjunction with Mt. Agassiz. I rambled down to one of the outlets, thinking that I could go up high on Hurd Peak, which sat on the other side of the lake. It turned out that the stream wasn’t shallow at all to ford. In fact, it was flowing scary fast. Great for photography but not so much for crossing. I may have been my last day on earth if I got swept away in the water!!! While telling myself that I must take another trail to get to the peak, I decided to do long exposure here with one of the twenty tallest peaks in California in the background.

Long Lake, CA

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#adventure, #bushes, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #flow, #flowing, #focusstacking, #grass, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #longexposure, #LongLake, #mountainview, #mountains, #MtAgassiz, #nature, #outdoors, #pines, #seekingsolitude, #shrubs, #SierraNevada, #stream, #tranquility, #water, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

Muy suave

The sky was hardly clear of grey clouds that appeared to shower in any given moment when I started out with this day’s destination in mind - Bishop Pass. Part of me was rather uneasy due to possible downpours, but to my great surprise, the weather held up. And walking on Bishop Pass Trail was just pure fun. In fact, the overcast sky let me enjoy the hike without breaking even a single sweat up to the foot of the switchbacks to the pass. Maybe the rain that came overnight did it. Or so much humidity in the air did it. The greenery looked mucho mas verde. The soil underneath my feet felt muy suave.

Bishop Pass Trail, CA

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#A7III, #adventure, #BishopPassTrail, #California, #Californialandscape, #clouds, #earth, #EasternSierra, #grass, #hiking, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #light, #mountains, #nature, #outdoors, #overcast, #pines, #plants, #rocks, #seekingsolitude, #SierraNevada, #Sony, #SonyAlpha, #trail, #tranquility, #wilderness

#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla

Last streaks of glistening glow

Big and small blotches of clouds that kept creeping overhead eventually blanketed most of the sky. Only a bit of clearing remaining over the peaks was letting a bit of light through. It felt like I was witnessing a hard fought defeat of the sunlight that had attempted to pierce through but failed against the clouds that had already advanced quite a bit. It got dark quickly once the last streaks of glistening glow in the water swallowed up by the murkiness. And the raindrops soon followed. I packed away my gear and put my poncho over it just in time for a downpour.

South Lake, CA

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#adventure, #California, #Californialandscape, #CanonEOS, #clouds, #EasternSierra, #granite, #HurdPeak, #landscape, #landscapephotography, #logs, #longexposure, #mountainview, #mountains, #nature, #outdoors, #reflection, #rocks, #seekingsolitude, #SierraNevada, #SouthLake, #sunset, #sunsetglow, #tranquility, #wilderness

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#LandscapePhotography +Landscape Photography curated by +Margaret Tompkins +Eric Drumm +Chandler L. Walker +Krzysztof Felczak +AJ Lim +Jeff Beddow +H Peter Ji +Jani Westman +Dorma Wiggin +Ranco Sevla Sevla