On my recent trip to the Owens Valley, I tried to look for good panorama opportunities. These situations arise when there is an expansive vista that lends well to an image that is three to six times wider than it is high. As with any photograph, one thing to keep in mind is to make sure the entire contents of the frame supports the photograph. There should be no large empty areas, unless those areas purposefully support the image with negative space.
These images can be created with any regular digital camera. The images are stitched together in post processing to create large, wide angle views. All of the photos presented here are in the 40 to 100 megapixel range, which means they can be printed very large (at least 30×90 inches). For better appreciation for the detail captured in these photos, please be sure to click on the image to see a larger view.
The sun lights stormy clouds as sets behind the eastern Sierra range, north of Bishop. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 640. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/400 sec. at f/8. Composed of 7 stitched photos, handheld.The sun rises over Hot Creek, as the Sierra Nevada looms in the distance. Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 100. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 3.2 sec. at f/16. Composed of 4 stitched photos.The wall of the eastern Sierra rises over ten thousand feet above the Alabama Hills at dawn. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/4 sec. at f/16. Composed of 7 vertical stitched photos.An ancient bristlecone pine crouches on a snowy slope, greeting morning's first rays of light, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/6 sec. at f/7.1. Composed of 7 stitched photos.
Dawn begins to light Mt. Langley and the wild rock formations of the Alabama Hills. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1.6 sec. at f/16.
A popular stop on any eastern Sierra tour is the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine. I’ve been here before, but every time I come back I see new things to focus on and photograph. Dawn is the most versatile time to shoot the area, as your photographs are enhanced by the intense alpenglow that adorns the 14,000 foot peaks to the west.
The two dominating mountain subjects in this area are Mt. Langley (above) and the Mt. Whitney massif (below). I was lucky to shoot the area after an early season snow storm, so I had some snow to contrast the red rock of the mountain tops. The Alabama Hills are covered with interesting boulder shapes, which provides endless photographic possibilities.
The peak of Mt. Whitney glows red in the early morning light. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/4 sec. at f/16.
Using an entire arsenal of lens lengths is key to this area. Wide angles work well framing mountains inside of arches. Medium lengths can use rock formations as foregrounds, while not diminishing the relative size of the massive mountains in the background (as seen in the first photo). Perhaps my favorite in this area however, are the long lenses. Point them anywhere and you’ll see interesting rock detail or a study of the cracks and crags that define a mountain face.
Moments after the sun rises over the Nevada desert, the peak of Mt. Whitney glows a bright orange. Canon 100-400mm f/5.6L lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 EV: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6.
Snow, rock, shadow and light combine to illustrate the steep slopes of Mt. Langley at dawn. Canon 100-400mm f/5.6L lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 EV: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6.
I kept shooting until the red glow of the mountains faded to its natural gray, and the long shadows of dawn began to shrink. I looked to the shady spots so that I didn’t have to work against the harsh shadows of mid morning. My eye was drawn to the variety of cactus growing in this high desert. In order to separate the cactus from their busy surroundings, I attached my 70-200mm lens and got down on my stomach. I worked with apertures that gave me just enough depth of field for the cactus, but threw the background out of focus.
Cholla cactus thrives in the high desert of the Alabama Hills. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 100. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/250 sec. at f/4.
A modest beavertail cactus grows in the Alabama Hills. Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 EV: 1/10 sec. at f/8.
After another hour, it was time to pack up for the morning and head out. If I had several days here, I would use this part of the day to explore and scout potential spots for future sunsets and sunrises. Unfortunately this day, I had other places to visit.
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending a short three-day workshop with David Muench, one of this country’s preeminent landscape photographers. Assisting him was Jerry Dodrill, who spend his early professional photography career working for Galen Rowel. It was great to catch up with both of them, and see some of the best that the eastern Sierra has to offer in the spring. It was a busy three days, during which I averaged about four hours of sleep per night. I spent a few days on either end of the workshop to meet up with friends and do a little exploring on my own. Here are a few photographs from the trip.
Barrel cactus is just starting to bloom in the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA. Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D Mark II. ISO 200. Evaluative metering -1/3 EV: 1/6 sec. at f/22.
The photo above and directly below were taken in early morning in the Alabama Hills, just outside of Lone Pine. It is an area famous not only for the sheer face of the eastern Sierra and the multitude of arches that frame them, but also for the many movies made here. Recent films include Iron Man, Gladiator, and Gone In 60 Seconds. Driving out on the dusty dirt road after sunrise, we saw two women walking along the road. I did a double take as I saw one of them was Penny Marshall. Really weird place to see a Hollywood celebrity!
I love the barrel cactus growing in this area, and wanted to feature one using the backdrop of Mt. Whitney and Mt. Langley.
Various patterns and colors of rock form layers to the face of Mt. Langley, Alabama Hills, CA. Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D Mark II. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/4 sec. at f/18.
This photograph is a more straight-forward interpretation, using the layering of rock bands to lead up to Mt. Langley. The area offers infinite patterns of boulders and rocks, many of which can be composed into very strong photographs. This is one of many areas for which David Meunch is famous.
The rising sun lightly dusts the peaks of the Eastern Sierra, Bishop, CA. Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D Mark II. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/13 sec. at f/18.
The mountains to the west of Bishop provide a dramatic backdrop for a variety of foreground locations and environments. The above photo used a small pond in a flooded field to create a reflection of Mt. Humphreys, Basin Mountain, and Mt. Tom (from left to right). The morning was clear with not a cloud in the sky (not a photographer’s best conditions for shooting!) The lack of wind was great for reflections, but the lack of clouds reduced the drama of the morning significantly. This is one of those examples of a great location with imperfect conditions. It is definitely a spot I hope to revisit and capture with more dramatic skies.
Irises come into bloom outside of Bishop, CA. Canon TS-E24mm f/3.5L II lens with the EOS-5D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1 1/3 EV: 1/20 sec. at f/16.
Our last evening brought a special sunset treat – a long line of lenticular clouds that formed above the Sierra crest had blown out over the Owen’s Valley. With strong winds out of the west, there was no cloud buildup in that direction, allowing the sun to light up the underside of the lenticulars at sunset. This phenomenon can happen regularly in the area due to the local topography, and has come to be know as the “Sierra wave”.
Lenticular clouds form over Owen's Valley at sunset, Bishop, CA. Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens with the EOS-5D Mark II. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 EV: .4 sec. at f/22.
It was a great trip – I got to spend time with friends and meet some new ones. Although nature photography tends to be a “solo sport”, it can be great fun meeting up with like-minded people.
Recently several people have asked me what alpenglow is, and what causes it. This term was probably popularized among photographers by Galen Rowell, who wrote about it and demonstrated it wonderfully through many of his fantastic landscapes. The term refers to the reddish pre-dawn and post-sunset lighting effects sometimes seen on mountain peaks. There is some debate as to whether it also refers to the light cast directly by the sun at the moment of sunrise or sunset, or if it only refers to an indirect red cast on the mountain top while the mountain is still in the earth’s shadow. Either way, it is a beautiful sight to behold.
Mt. Whitney glows red in pre-dawn light, Alabama Hills, CA
I got a chance to see intense alpenglow recently when I visited the Alabama Hills on the eastern side of the Sierra. In the photo above, you can see the intense red of alpenglow touching the peak of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental US.
Why is alpenglow red? The longest and slowest moving light waves in the visible spectrum are red. As light travels through our atmosphere, the faster wave lengths (blue) are absorbed – only the red penetrates. Alpenglow is an extreme version of this light absorption because of the increased amount of atmosphere light has to travel through at this time of day. Here we have the sun rising on one horizon (east), striking an object on the opposite horizon (west). The red wave length is the only end of the spectrum that makes it through all that atmosphere. The fact that there are no features obstructing the sun as it rises across the Nevada desert, combined with the fact that the peaks of the eastern Sierra rise over 10,000 feet straight up, make the Alabama Hills one of the best places on earth to view alpenglow.
Light from the rising sun creeps down the face of Mt. Whitney at dawn, Alabama Hills, CA
Here we have another shot of Whitney taken less than four minutes after the first photo. Here the darker purple of the earth shadow moved down the face, and the red color was more orange as the sun rose above the eastern horizon. Even though it was only four minutes later, there was less atmosphere for the sun light to traverse, shifting the color away from red and toward the shorter wavelengths.
