Tufas in Blue

I’ve seen some amazing photos of the tufas at Mono Lake (Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve).  They are usually taken during sunrise or sunset – basically times when the light is doing something special and not just… there.  Unfortunately, the way the timing worked out for us, we were there right when the sun was blazing in the sky, projecting harsh light onto the scene.  Of course, that didn’t stop me from grabbing a bunch of shots (I still shoot somewhat indiscriminately, something that I probably need to work on).  Basically, I wasn’t going to get another chance to be there for a while so I had to make do.

In the scene above, the tufa towers in the middle of the lake looked like people to me from far away.  My first thought was, how the hell are people standing in the middle of such an alkaline, salty lake? Then I realized it wasn’t people. Heh. :)  I messed around with the shot in Lightroom till I got to what you see above.  What I love is all the layers that emerge in the water, as well as the outlines of the mountains in the back.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to go back and get a shot closer to this!