Sierra Nevada | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

August 11, 2011November 6, 2015

Mono Lake

Evening light on tufa towers at the south shore, Mono Lake, California

The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, which was established in 1982, is one of 70 parks, historic buildings and monuments that California State Park officials plan to close by the end of June 2012 due to budget restraints. The famous south shore tufa will still be accessible (as will the rest of the lake), but the visitor center and information kiosks will likely close and with them a valuable educational resource that has helped keep Mono Lake alive.

Since the early part of the 20th century, the water rights along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains have been hotly contested with the construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct. The classic story of how Mulholland bought up the ranch lands of the Owen’s Valley to build his dream and bring water to the desert of Southern California is well-documented in the movie Chinatown, and the subsequent LA Department of Water and Power has been in court many times over the years as a result.

Mono Lake has no outlet and its proximity near the start of the LA aqueduct makes it critically dependent on the naturally flowing streams that feed into it from the nearby Sierra. It’s highly saline waters are a perfect breeding ground for brine shrimp, which in turn are the staple diet for over 2,000,000 migratory birds that visit the lake each year (including the second largest nesting population of California gulls in the US).

Fortunately we’ve had a couple of very wet winters and Mono Lake is receiving the water it needs for now. But with the growing demand of a rapidly expanding and thirsty west, its future remains uncertain.

July 6, 2011November 6, 2015

Devil’s Postpile

Cliff and columnar basalt, Devil’s Postpile National Monument, California

This small national monument near Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada is celebrating its centennial this week. It was spared a watery burial one hundred years ago today when congress saved it from a proposed dam on July 6, 1911.

Its unusual basalt columns are the by-product of an ancient lava lake, which rapidly formed and then cooled leaving behind the perfectly shaped hexagonal pillars that make up the cliff. The constant force of winter freeze and thaw is slowly eroding the formation, and the symmetrical blocks that look as though they were snapped together are littered at its base like a child’s building blocks.

The road to the monument, which is closed in winter but easily accessible the rest of the year, is just past the Mammoth Mountain ski area and is also the jumping off point for the popular Minarets and Ansel Adams Wilderness.

March 20, 2011November 6, 2015

Marathon Mentality

Climbers on the summit of Tenaya Peak, Yosemite National Park, California

Watching the LA Marathon today (on a cold, soggy morning in Southern California) got me thinking about the correlation between endurance sports and photography and the rewards involved when going the distance. Coming back from a remote shoot with successful imagery involves many factors that all need to come together and often requires the same discipline used in running a marathon. Call it hang time or as I prefer “marathon mentality”, it’s a willingness to stay just a little longer, travel just a little further, or even endure some discomfort – then expect the unexpected.

After racing many marathons over the past 15 years I began to see a connection between the investment and return for both my photography and racing. Both require the obvious advanced preparation and planning, photo equipment needs to function properly in extremes of temperature and often with rough handling just as the body must be conditioned to endure the effects of running 26 miles. But once at a location or a race the mental process of being “in the moment”, in a heightened sense of awareness for extended periods, is often just as important and can be the difference between success and failure.

I’m always amazed at the multitude of reasons why people run marathons, but the one thing they all have in common is a desire to push themselves further than they have ever gone before. In the same vein, your photography can be taken to the next level simply by tuning your senses to absorb all that is around you and a willingness to exercise your own marathon mentality.