South Tufa - Mono Lake
After two evening night shoots at Highway 120 and Poole Power Plant Road, I debated whether I should go to yet another location at some distance from the motel. At the end, my desire to paint tufas over the lake in moonlit sky won out. I drove to South Tufa area of Mono Lake. I relied on faint memory of how to get there since the road was dark and there were no other cars in the vicinity. Finally, I made it to the dark and empty parking lot. With camera gears, floodlight for painting, and flashlights to illuminate the trail, I made it to the tufas. But I did not account for the impact of the drought dropping the water level. Tufas I had envisioned from memory with good reflection were now on dry land. Since it was quite dark and I did not want to wander around on uneven ground in search of good formations, I went ahead and photographed close by formations. The moon did show itself momentarily, giving me chances to compose with clouds and moonlight.
Overall, it was a fair night outing. Advance scouting and better weather could have made a difference. Perhaps on a future visit...
