Lake Rocks, Arching Horizon: Mono Lake, CA

I found these small rocks in the shallows of an enormous salt lake, still catching the last of the strong desert sun.  With moments of daylight to spare, I composed this open landscape, setting the three shallow rocks against a swooping distant shoreline.

The curve of the land unsettles the traditional composition and adds a slight surreal feeling to the scene.  The clearing storm is not as dark here as in previous photos of the lake, but the mood is similar – forlorn, brooding, and very alone, as though the far shore had been a lost destination.

Terri and I camped not far from this lake.  Waking the next morning, we found that over a foot of snow had covered our tent, making the landscape seem hundreds of miles from the desert moonscape where we had made our bed the night before.

Lake Rocks, Arching Horizon: Mono Lake, CA, 2002