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Thirsty Thursday: Convict Lake Sunrise

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks 2012 Merlot

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. My parents are visiting for the holidays from Iowa, and I decided we should take a little road trip to the Eastern Sierras. It was a short trip, but we did of exploring along U.S. 395 in and around Bishop. 

On our first morning in the Eastern Sierra we went to catch sunrise at Convict Lake. In typical Welliver Photography fashion, the sky was completely clear...not one ounce of drama. Add a setting moon to that cloudless sky and we didn't even get good winter twilight colors. But we were there, so I snapped a few frames. 

Here's one in the pre-dawn light. 

And this is what it looked like once the sun started to hit the top of Laurel Mountain. 

While conditions weren't incredible for photography, any morning spent shooting in the mountains is pretty much perfect. Get out there and enjoy your favorite scenery this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Eastern Sierra Recap

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: 2008 Ventana Chardonnay...oh so buttery yummy!

Its Thirsty Thursday once again...time to pur something yummy and make those weekend plans...or in this case, re-live an awesome weekend gone-by.

I brought work home every night this week, and every night I played with photos from our latest trip to the Sierra instead. Work will always be there, right? But there will soon be more trips to the Sierra and I can't have unedited photos hanging in the queue. As you've probably already noticed from our previous posts or rambles/rants on twitter, facebook, etc, we had a great time in the mountains, despite the boring skies and lack of dramatic light. I told my boss when I got back that Tuesday, it was an incredibly beautiful weekend in the mountains and a horrible weekend for photography! But nevertheless, we still came away with a few nice images. Aaaaand, we didn't have to worry about frostbite, getting drenched in a thunderstorm, or wind blowing the tripod over (all things that have happened before!).

These are my favorites from the weekend. Perhaps you'll see something you like. If you do, leave a comment. And as always, thanks for stopping by!

Sunrise at Silver Lake.  

Terry working his magic at Convict Lake. 

 Mono Lake is always a challenge for me. I rarely come away happy at sunrise or sunset. I suppose it didn't help that a bratty kid threw rocks at me this time around while I was composing a shot. He was lucky his parents called him back over not long after. This was from a hidden parking lot where there were no people, thank goodness.

 Terry had never been to Bodie, so I was more than happy to show him around the old mining town. Love shooting here, just wish the park hours were a little more photographer friendly. Some morning light here would be fantastic.

 On our last morning we went to Convict Lake again. We shot from the dam this time...a cliche composition of this lake, but I hadn't shot this angle before. Afterwards we hiked the trail around the lake, mainly so Massey could get a good run in before the 6-hour drive home. Some of my favorites from the weekend are from this hike.

 Finally, in the last 10 minutes of our last hike, some clouds moved in and gave us a few shadows and a hint of drama. And then it was time to drive home.

Massey Monday: Conversations

Massey loved her weekend in the Sierra. This scene is from the far side of Convict Lake. Convict Creek fingers out before it dumps into the lake, and this boardwalk helps to keep a hiker's boots dry. Massey doesn't mind getting wet though...she loved these little mountain streams. Terry and Massey had a quick conversation before she unleashed her energy on the shady grove of aspens and cottonwoods fingered with rushing mountain run-off.