Granite Stones In Tarn-Tuolumne Meadows

Here's another from my excellent adventure with Michael Gordon in Tuolumne Meadows.

I was really taken by the patterns created by the stones and their reflections in the still water. I would have prefered a cloudy day with very subdued light: It looks like I'll have to go back next year (like that would be painful-not!).

Tachihara 4x5
300mm Nikor
Astia 100-F
Cropped

Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. :Smile:

-PB

NOw this is really cool. I'm seeing another image within this image even. Those four boulders form a diamond. What if the image was cropped to just show those four?

I think the rocks on the upper left drags down the composition as it takes my eye away from the cool arrangement in the middle.

Preston,

I would agree with your take on it. I really like the idea and composition. With the right light, this would be even sweeter. You will just have to suck it up and go back. Sounds just horrible.

Preston I just made a similar shot with my 150mm Nikor Thursday morning July 14 that just might be the same pond as my vague memory says the rocks are familiar. Maybe not? Will see tomorrow when I pick up 64 transparencies from the lab from my 5-day road trip. It was not in Tuolumne Meadows but rather what I call the "Deer Pond" on the north side of the highway where it follows near the Dana Fork above 9k some miles. For years deer often could be seen during mornings in the back area of the shallow pond with such rock islands and people would abruptly stop and gawk which was a traffic safety issue since there is no room to park off the pavement. So a few years ago YNP put up no parking signs to emphasize that non-sense. I'm guessing the lake contained some springs upwelling and depositing salts that the deer were compelled to lick. Anyway even though I've passed the pond many many times and noticed it might be worked like the Weston Pond near the May Lake turnoff, I never got out to bother with it until last week. The reason that changed was it was late morning maybe 10:30am, I noticed driving by the pond bottom had some of that very bright new green grass growing at the west end and I had nothing better to do by that time of the morning so bothered to explore a bit. So hopped around from rock island to rock island and found a more pointing down from a high tripod position than in your shot. Unlike your image, mine has the light brown pond bottom sparsely covered by the bright green newly rising pond grass. Somewhat worried that granite whites would be too harsh, I think I exposed at EV 14.9. Will see? My image doesn't include the rock top left in your frame nor the opposite shore and includes some other rocks below your foreground. Of course might not be the same pond at all haha. But if so it is amusing we both noticed this same aesthetic. ...David

David,

This does sound like the same pond. I'm surprised there was still water in it, given the heat and dryness of the past few weeks. There were three does drinking out of the pond while Michael and I were: it was quite a peaceful afternoon.

I plan to go back next spring under (hopefully) better lighting conditions and shoot a series there. I would also like to check out the river just across the way when the water flow is much lower. There might be some really nice comps among the boulders and stones. When we were there, the flow was huge, so a close approach was not very safe.

I hope all's well. Perhaps we'll cross paths sometime.

-PB

I really like this one, Preston.

- Dan.