|
We are trying to develop a community where photographers can come and discuss nature, wildlife and pet photography related matters. We encourage you to enter the forums to discuss this article as well as to share your photographs and experiences in our forums here at NWP.
Anand Sankaran has been an amateur digital photographer for the past 5 years. He is currently using the Nikon Digital SLR system. With the Nikon SLR system, he finds that it has opened many new avenues for him to explore. He has a varied interest in photography and will photograph anything, except for, "bugs, birds, and sports [smile]."
Introduction
I am a big fan of Galen Rowell.
I am thankful to Thom Hogan [Thom's Interview] for many things,
but the most significant aspect of what Thom did to me was introducing
Galen. Having read a lot of Galen Rowell’s work, it is quite natural
to develop a love for the Eastern Sierras and Owens Valley. I have been to Owens
Valley once before, to see Mt Whitney and Mono Lake.
Mono Lake at Sunrise, June 2005
A quick drive through the valley seeing the snow capped mountains
of the Sierras, I wondered what wonders are all hidden on top of those mountains,
in the John Muir Trail
that runs between Yosemite Valley and Mt. Whitney. I was quite lucky that the
opportunity presented itself.
The Opportunity
Steve Kiser,
an associate professor of fine arts at Foothill College and City College of
San Francisco, was conducting a photo workshop in the Bristlecone Forest up
in the White Mountain ranges near Bishop, CA. I had read about Bristlecone pine
trees in many of Galen's books. He was fascinated by the agelessness of these
trees and how these trees were actually used to calibrate measurements obtained
from carbon dating. It was a no brainer to sign up for the workshop to be close
to these magnificent wonders, so I signed up, along with many photographers
from my local photo club.
Bristlecone Pine Trees
Bristlecone pine trees are the oldest living organisms on the
planet. The oldest of them all, Methuselah is more than 4,700 years old and
it is present in the Schulmann Grove, White Mountain range. Scientists study
the bristlecone pine trees to understand climatic behavior thousands of years
ago. The University of California has a research station called the White
Mountain Research Station, at more than 12,000 feet in the hills to analyze
these trees and does high altitude related research. The groves of trees themselves
are windswept, the conditions are very harsh and rarely there is any other vegetation
present. It is indeed, one of the true wonders of Eastern Sierras.
Harsh Terrain, White Mountains
Getting There
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and getting to Owens Valley
is only a 7 hour drive through Yosemite National Park in Summer and an 8 hour
drive through Sonara Pass when it is open. In peak winter times, both passes
are closed, so one has to drive down south to Bakersfield, CA and then drive
up north through US-395. Every drive is beautiful in its own right and one can
not go wrong picking any of these paths to get to the Valley.
The nearest town to the forest is Bishop, CA, home of Galen Rowell's
Mountain Light Gallery, a magnificent
collection of fine art prints by Galen. One must stop there and spend a good
hour or two simply to see those magnificent photographs and appreciate the art
and talent of Galen. You drive south of Bishop
on Freeway US-395 till you hit the town of Big Pine, CA. You then take highway
168 up in the hills in paved road when you hit Schulmann Grove, which hosts
Methuselah, the world's oldest tree [Authorities do not identify which tree
it is]. You then follow the unpaved road for a bumpy ride to reach Crooked Creek
research station of University of California. As the crow flies, the forest
is only about 10 miles from Bishop, but when you drive up these unpaved roads,
it is a good 2 hour drive. And before you know, from 4000 feet above sea level
in Bishop, you are at 11,000 feet above sea level in the forest.
Star Trails and Bristlecone Pine
We settled down in the dorm style rooms of the research center,
had dinner and went straight up the dirt road to Patriarch Grove to photograph
star trails in the night.
Star Trails and Bristlecone Pines, 30 min exposure
We did a 30 minute exposure of the star trails. We pivoted our
focus facing the North Star that enabled to capture the stars in a circular
fashion. It was 35 deg F and a strong wind chill that literally froze us. The
good thing about star trails is you set up your camera and gear, hope for the
best and you can sit in the warmth of your car for the next 30 minutes till
the exposure is done. That is what we did.
Sunrise in Patriarch Grove, Day 1
We woke up early the next day and drove again to Patriarch grove.
Patriarch grove gains its name since the world's largest Bristlecone pine tree
is present there. The trees in Patriarch grove are much younger than the trees
in Schulmann grove.
Campfire, Sunrise in Patriarch Grove
Once you are in Patriarch grove, the initial panic sets in. The
light is changing so fast, you have limited time to capture the magnificent
sunlight and you don't know where to start. The grove itself is very big, spread
over in all the directions, so I hoped for the best and started looking for
a strong foreground subject to pivot the sunrise.
Bristlecone Tree, Moon and Sunrise, Patriarch Grove
The easiest way to properly expose the gorgeous colors of sunrise
and gather details of the tree is to use fill flash [Thanks again, Thom
and Galen]. With the built in wireless capability of the SB-800 to help,
I turned down the intensity of flash by using - 1.3 FEC, used a warming gel
on the flash and side lit the trees to get a nice exposure of these trees.
Almost immediately I noticed the harshness of the terrain. The
flooring is nothing but hard shells and rocks, the wind is strong and harsh
and you don't see any other vegetation in the area. It is truly a wonder how
these trees have lived and survived so long.
Harsh Wood and Horizon, Patriarch Grove
As I explore the area more, I see this very interesting tree.
Steve Kiser told us that this was the most photographed tree in the entire grove,
this one is right next to the parking lot. Yes, you drive right next to the
trees and within a few feet of where you park your car, there is abundant photographic
opportunities.
The Most Photographed Tree, Patriarch Grove
Every One points to the Same Tree, Patriarch Grove
Evil Siblings, Patriarch Grove
As you can see, there is abundant opportunity to experiment, isolate
and focus on textures and patterns of these trees. As the sun rises, the trees
start reflecting the light and glare is a big problem. Use of a circular polarizer
helps to reduce a significant amount of glare.
Portrait, Dead Bristlecone Tree, Patriarch Grove
The Harsh Terrain
The rugged, harsh terrain provides photographers with many great
photographic opportunities.
Wanted - Photographer, White Mountains
Brown Hills and Sky, White Mountains
Upright, Stump in White Mountains
AMS
Since we gain altitude so quickly (going up from 4000 ft to 11000
ft in practically no time), Acute
Mountain Sickness sets in for most people up in the hills. I had severe
headache during both the days I was there. Tylenol and Motrin helped relieve
the pain and I took small naps whenever I could. A couple of the folks in the
workshop fell real sick and had to be taken down to Bishop, CA before anything
untoward happened. Watch out for AMS. Be prepared. As I read later, if AMS sets
in, the only solution is to go down.
In addition, relative humidity in the grove is very low, it is
in the 20% range. Carry a lot of water with you. You will need as much water
as you can get.
Up Close
As the sun rises higher, the glare on the trees increases manifold.
It is almost impossible to control the exposure and capture the details of these
trees. It is time to take the macro lens out and study the textures, lines and
patterns of these trees. After a quick lunch break and a quick nap, out came
the macro lens.
The Eye, Patriarch Grove
All it Takes is a 1000 Years, Young Pine
A Hundred Years Later, Mature Pine
A Closer Look at the Bark, Bristlecone Tree
Patriarch
Weathered by Time
It is an amazing experience to look closely at these trees and
explore their details. To realize what they have survived and what they have
gone through and what they have seen in the past thousands of years. Surreal.
The light is very harsh. I would strongly recommend a small diffuser
to soften up the light for detail work. It really helped me to control the highlights
and capture great detail and texture.
Sunrise Near Locked Gate, Day 2
As I mentioned, we stayed in a dorm type facility in the Crooked
Cabin Research Center. Unfortunately, this facility is available only to University
of California researchers. We got in since Steve Kiser works with the UC system.
Staying close to the forest really helps to explore the grove multiple times.
On the first day, I was really exhausted by lunch time. We returned back to
the dorms by 4 pm and all I wanted to do was to take rest and prepare for the
next morning.
On the next day, we again woke up very early and this time, we
drove up to nearly 12,000 feet towards Locked Gate, towards the Barcroft
Station. We stopped a few miles before the station to capture sunrise. Again,
it was freezing, about 28 deg F. The altitude really took a toll on me, I was
gasping for breath and struggling to breathe, but it was all definitely worth
it.
Sunrise in Sierra Nevada
Controlling the dynamic range during such a high contrast situation
is a very difficult thing, I used a 3 stop Graduated neutral density filter
for all the sunrise shots to hold back the sky from blowing out.
Sunrise in Sierra Nevada
Sunrise in White Mountains
Layers, Sierra Nevada Mountain Range
I worked on a couple of panorama images as well. You can see them
here
and here.
Recommendations
I used my Tokina 12-24 lens the most, followed by the 105mm micro
nikkor lens and the 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR nikkor lens. An ultra wide lens is
a definite requirement for a location like the Bristlecone Pine Forest. I could
not have done without a circular polarizer to cut down glare, a set of Graduated
Neutral Density filters to keep the dynamic range under control and the SB 800
flash for effective fill flash capability. I also used a PD70X compact drive
portable storage device to transfer photos from my compact flash card on the
field.
Links
If you would like to see more of his work please check out his online album at www.anands.net . You can also check out his photo-a-day blog at blog.anands.net.
If you have a story about your own photographic journeys and would like to share please contact us.
| 
