Fred Weyman Wilderness and Landscape Fine Art Photography
Bullfrog Lake
Potential foregrounds for this scene at Bullfrog Lake (10,610 ft.) covered about 1,000 vertical feet on the southern flank of Mt. Rixford. None were better than the first one I saw, just a few feet off the Kearsarge Pass Trail. Many pines at treeline develop vivid orange, red, and yellow colors as they age. These were enhanced by the warm shadowless light created by dust in the Central Valley and a few thin clouds in front of the setting sun.
Lake Reflection
If I had been able to balance my tripod a bit quicker, this Lake Reflection (10,005 ft.) scene would have been even better. By the time I got set up midstream on some slippery rocks and logs, the orange finned brook trout that would have been easily visible in the lower left had slipped away. A key prop for this photo is the sunlit cliff that is just outside the right edge. This east facing, reddish cliff was reflecting light back across the lake and on to the lodgepole pines, warming the scene and filling in shadows like a reflective screen or flash would in a studio setting.
Fin Dome
The small rise, just up the ridge from Fin Dome, had been circled on my map for several years. It was surrounded by Rae Lakes and 60 Lake Basin in southeastern Kings Canyon National Park. Scattered clouds created contrasty patches of light and dark across the basins, not very appealing. But when the clouds thickened, creating generally more even light, and a brighter spotlight was headed to Fin Dome; I decided it was worth taking.
Lake Reflection 2
Taking advantage of a steady wind and a slow shutter speed, Lake Reflection (10,005 ft.) blurs the huge northern face of Mt. Jordan (13,344 ft.), one of the largest lakeside escarpments in the range.
Evolution Lake
In the 1890's Theodore Solomon, an explorer and prolific namer of the Sierra, named six peaks in this area after Charles Darwin and other scientists who were the first to realize the existence of the evolutionary process. Evolution Lake (10,850 ft.) has a well-deserved reputation as being one of the most desirable backcountry destinations in the Sierra. I was rewarded with a few scattered clouds at sunset that cast the shadow on Mt. Darwin (13,830 ft., upper left). Even when there are people in the scene, it is difficult to judge the scale in other parts of the photograph.
Bench Lake, Arrow Peak
"The view of Arrow Peak (12,958 ft.) from Bench Lake (10,558 ft.) is one of the classic views in the Sierra"-R.J. Secor. R.J. Secor's book "The High Sierra, Peaks, Passes and Trails" is the finest guide to the Sierra trails and cross-country routes, and has been indispensable in selecting locations in advance and on the spot.
Evolution Cascade
The light colored granite in the "Range of Light" changes color during the day depending on the color of the sky. From the outlet of Evolution Lake this cascade, bathed in warm, early morning light, drops Evolution Creek to the tree-lined meadows of Evolution Valley.
Bench Lake
"In the clarity of its waters and in its splendid setting among granite peaks and spurs, this sparkling jewel has few peers in the Sierra" This description in the trailguide "Sierra South" was the main reason I hiked to this isolated part of Kings Canyon National Park. I took the easy way over Taboose Pass (11,352 ft., upper right) which is one of the tougher east side trails due to its steep, under-maintained trail and low elevation (5,380 ft.) trailhead.
Sapphire Lake
The next lake upstream from Evolution Lake on the John Muir/ Pacific Crest Trail, in a glacially carved granite bowl at the foot Mt. Huxley (13,086 ft.)is Sapphire Lake with its chain of outlet pools. Although rather small from this distance, the gravity-defying granite slab 'diving board' on the right side is quite impressive from below.
Kings River
The only other photo in this Sierra collection taken from a paved surface is "Storm from Glacier Point". At about 4,900 ft., this sunset scene from the bridge on the Kings Canyon Highway over the South Fork Kings River near Roads End, is also the lowest in this collection.
Rae Lakes, Dragon Lake
Rae Lakes (10,540 ft.) are halfway around a popular multi-day backpacking loop that starts at Roads End in southeastern King's Canyon National Park. Dragon Lake sits in one of the Sierra's many hanging valleys between Black Mountain (left, 13,289 ft.) and colorful Dragon Peak (right, 12,955 ft.).
Lucy's Foot Pass
Some welcome color near the top of the avalanche chute that is the route across Lucy?s Foot Pass. Lake Reflection (10,005 ft.) is about 2,400 feet below with South Guard (left 13,224 ft) and Mt. Brewer (right 13,570 ft.) on the horizon.
