On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Remember… after today’s post, Bill gets a 2-week hiatus during First Timers “week”. So let’s take a minute to thank Bill for all the Mission posts, and more. But never fear, Bill will be back! Not sure where he will be taking us next, but I’m pretty sure we still won’t be in Kansas. At least I don’t think we will. The images of the sky are my favorites, so who knows, maybe Bill will take us to “heaven” again? In the meantime, First Timers, please send in your photos and stories! ~WG
?BillinGlendaleCA
Continuing south on US-395 to Lone Pine it was time to make a side trip for another visit to Mt. Whitney. Whitney Portal road starts in Lone Pine and makes it’s way though the Alabama Hills to the base of the Sierra. It then makes a climb up into the Sierra via a single switchback and heads up Lone Pine Creek canyon before reaching a relative flat area known as Whitney Portal. This is where the trail to Mt. Whitney begins.
There is also a campground and picnic area as well as a nice cascade where Lone Pine Creek falls from the upper elevations down into the canyon below. The one thing about Whitney Portal is that you can’t actually see Mt. Whitney, you have to back track about 1/2 a mile down the road before it comes into view.
The goal for this revisit was to drive further up Whitney Portal Road to get some better photos that I shot on my last visit in February. The road was closed at the beginning of the switchback that climbs into the Sierra, so I had to settle for some shots near a turnout just below that.
Mt. Whitney from Whitney Portal Road, you can see quite a bit of the snow has melted since February.
I took my IR camera with me on this trip, I’m a bit skeptical about IR with natural landscapes since it tends to look too monochromatic. I think the visual layer brought just enough of the reds back into the shot to make it effective. You can clearly see the road up the mountain going to Whitney Portal at the right.
Close-up view of Mt. Whitney shot with a 200mm zoom lens. It took a big lens with me on this trip (650-1300mm) and shot the mountain, but I wasn’t too happy with the results (it’s not a great lens).
This is an example of scene compression. I shot the tree in the foreground and Mt. Whitney in the background and it makes Mt. Whitney look much closer than it really is.
Close-up view of Mt. Whitney at sunset (not really, it’s a sky replacement).
Mt. Williamson, the second highest peak in California, is just a few miles north of Mt. Whitney.
This is Lone Pine Peak, a few miles southeast of Mt. Whitney, at the south side of the Lone Pine Creek canyon. I really liked the green in the canyon on the mountain.
Owens Lake was at the southern terminus of the Owens River. After Los Angeles stole the water fair and square from the Owens River the lake dried up within 10 years. Courts have mandated that LA return some of the water to river and to mitigate the dust in the dry lake bed, so it does have some water in some portions of the formally dry lake.
mrmoshpotato
He replaced the sky! What sorcery! (and great pictures.)
Baud
I need to plan a trip to southern California.
Leto
@Baud: That’s what I was thinking. I’d love to see all of these sites that Bill keeps photographing.
JPL
Wow!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mrmoshpotato:
Madame calls it cheating.
@Baud:
@Leto: Come on out!
@JPL: Thanks.
Wanderer
Beautiful photos.
Geminid
@mrmoshpotato: As Jimi Hendrix might say, “Excuse me! while I switch the sky.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
I only travel as far as the Prius will take me, so no Kansas. I will be headed to Joshua Tree tomorrow evening(with Madame) and there will be a lot of driving during the next week around the new moon.
If you like a particular photo featured here “On the Road” remember prints of anything posted here are available for purchase on my website (also accessible by clicking on my nym).
Also, if you’d like to support my work on an ongoing basis, good news! I have a Patreon. A sample of what my patrons see first is here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Wanderer: Thanks.
@Geminid: One of the tools that I was using to gauge the weather before I headed up north was a webcam pointed at Mt. Whitney and so I had an idea of what it looks like at sunset. I’ve got a program(Luminar 4) that does sky replacement(also the ability to add things like the Moon, planets, birds, or balloons) that relights the scene for the sky that you’ve chosen.
arrieve
If switching the sky was cheating, God wouldn’t have invented Photoshop. The color in that photo is beautiful — it’s not just the sky that looks like sunset.
Beautiful photos — I really like the closeup of Mt Whitney too.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@arrieve: Thanks, Luminar does a really good job with sky replacement(I also used it for the sunset picture of the cemetery at Manzanar last week). I took my really big lens with me on this trip and got an even closer pic of Mt. Whitney, but while it’s a big lens(650mm-1300mm) it’s not all that good.
Wag
Excellent photos, as usual. Climbing Whitney is on the bucket list.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Wag: Thanks, I hear it’s a really good hike.
SkyBluePink
Fantastic photos!
Geminid
@?BillinGlendaleCA: You do really beautiful work, and I’ve enjoyed every post, especially the missions. Do you ever go to New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment”? I always thought it was a photographer’s dream, especially at sunrise and sunset.
Leto
@?BillinGlendaleCA: When we’re able to travel again, I’m fairly certain we’ll take you up on that offer!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SkyBluePink: Thanks.
@Geminid: I’ve been though New Mexico, about 45 years ago; now it’s a bit too far for travel there via my Prius, so not in the cards. I do follow a photographer in Silver City and his stuff is amazing.
@Leto: You won’t be sorry, hit me up for tips.
Laura Too
In the before time I lived to travel. Now I have the wonderful photos here to make me dream of the after time. I don’t always get a chance to comment on the day of the post but I look at every one and savor the calm and peace it brings to me. Thank you all!!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Laura Too: Glad you enjoy them.
Geminid
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, Albuquerque is a long haul, 800 miles for you, 1800 for me. There’s always Amtrak, but it’s not inexpensive. But thank you for your photography; I send it on to friends.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Geminid: Thanks, in addition to the length of the drive, I have two elderly dogs, so I don’t like to be away too long.
JustRuss
@arrieve: If you’ve ever had dealings with Adobe, you know Photoshop was created by Satan.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JustRuss: I know Satan, I used to work for Satan*, Adobe isn’t Satan. //
*I used to work for a major oil company.
Dmbeaster
I am tempted to post pictures of my climbs up Whitney, particularly on the Mountaineer’s Route. It is beautiful up there. I also did Williamson from the opposite side of what your picture shows. A rugged climb, but not as scenic as Whitney, except for its fantastic view of Whitney’s north face. You can see a portion of the Mountaineer’s Route in your third photo. It is the snow gulley to the immediate right of the peak, which melts completely by summer.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Dmbeaster: You should submit them as an OTR, next two weeks are for “first timers”. I’ll be out in the desert for the next week or so.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Adobe’s business model was created by Satan and the MBA who works for him.
WaterGirl
@Dmbeaster: Please do submit your photos! They sound lovely.
Plus, First Timers Week (2 weeks) starts on Monday and we only have 3 new peeps so far.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: Some photographers don’t like the subscription model for Adobe products, I find it pretty reasonable. It’s $10 a month for Lightroom and Photoshop, I’ve looked at(and own) other products, but they’re the best.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl:
I call it virgin(sacrifice) week.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I am open to renaming if doing that will engender more On the Road submissions.
BigJimSlade
Great shots @BillinGlendaleCA – Whitney is a might fine looking mountain. Nice strong blue sky. Last time I was up in the eastern Sierras, in the Mammoth area, it was a bit hazy.
Regarding Lightroom and Photoshop – I go for the $10/month subscription as well.
JustRuss
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ve been dealing with Adobe products in education for over 20 years. There was a period when their enterprise licensing was sane and reasonable, but that was brief and long ago, and they keep finding new ways to make it worse.
For individuals, sure, they’re not that bad, but they make my world hell.
Mary G
I am very much not a mountain climber, but I do love Lone Pine and hope to do the drive up 395 again someday. It refreshes the soul just like the ocean.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: Heh. It. Just. Might. Work.
@BigJimSlade: Thanks, I’ve never been further north than Bishop, but after the suggestion of Little Lakes Valley from a commenter two weeks ago, I’d like to visit there. Unfortunately that would have to be an overnight trip* and with the dogs, that’s a problem.
Considering the cost of a full version of LIghtroom/Photoshop and annual upgrades $120/year is a pretty good deal, but I hear a good number of complaints about it.
*Mainly due to the altitude which starts at 10,200′.
@JustRuss: I was just taking issue with Adobe being Satan, I worked in the legal department of the large oil company(who I often refer to as Satan) and have been called that a number of times. But on the individual licensing level, I’ve seen a number on Photographers and video folk that want to “own” the software.
@Mary G: It is really pretty up there, after the suggestion of Little Lakes Valley just off of 395 at Tom’s Place, I really want to go up there. The scenery is amazing.
I’ve got a couple of sites up there that I want to shoot Milky Way pics(not the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, everybody goes there) either in the next week or so or next month.
Steve from Mendocino
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I call it “trick shit”, and I’ve always done my share of it :)
Elmo
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Bill, I don’t know whether to thank you or condemn you for these. I lived in Mammoth for 10 years, and the blue of that sky is tearing at my soul, I miss it so very, very much. But my suggestion is, if you’re going to do the weekend trip anyway, to skip Little Lakes Valley and go instead to the June Lake Loop. Just as stunning and only at about 6000′.
You can overnight in Mammoth and take in the Lakes Basin – Lake George in particular will take your breath away – and if you want a hike, you can do worse than Coldwater Creek trailhead and the Duck Lake trail.
Brother, I will write you out a whole travelog that will take up your whole summer if you want. Then you can take pictures of my beloved Eastern Sierra and make me cry with longing.
dmbeaster
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I strongly recommend the Little Lakes Valley hike. It is easy and uniquely beautiful. It is the one place where you can immediately access the High Sierra since the trailhead is so high. The only comparable east side trailhead is down at Cottonwood Lakes south of Whitney, but by then, the range is getting very dry and not the same experience.
I will post some pictures from there.
For stargazing and picture taking, I strongly recommend the Bristlecone Pine Forest out of Big Pine. The altitude can get very high on that road. The view of the Sierras is amazing. The night sky is incredible both because of very dark conditions, and the altitude.
TheRug
These pics transport me back to my time hiking Mt Whitney, my heart and soul join with the mountain, thank you.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve from Mendocino:
I do sky replacements on occasion, mainly to fix a messed up sky(sensor too dirty, scanned negatives or slides). Since it so blindingly easy with Luminar, I’ll sometimes do it just to see what it looks like.
@Elmo: I talk the Googlemobile for a spin around the June Lake loop, I think I did it a year or so ago. I”ve been wanting to see Mono Lake for a long while, but again with anything really north of Bishop, it’s an overnight thing and the girls can be an issue.
@dmbeaster: The pictures I’ve seen from the north side of Long Lake really make me want to drive up there right now, just that stunning.
The Bristlecone Pines have been on my “to do” list for 50 years, but when I was looking for a place to shoot the Palisades I noticed that there was a good place up there(Sierra View Overlook). I wasn’t sure that they were open(snow or the ‘rona) when I went up a month ago or how much extra time it’d take to get up there and back. I ended up settling for the ridge off 168.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TheRug: Glad you liked ’em, the closest I ever got to hiking Mt. Whitney was about 12 feet up the trail at Whitney Portal.