While most photographers shoot the tufa towers in the water at Mono Lake, I find the intricate, fragile shapes of the sand tufas at Navy Beach to be infinitely more fascinating and compelling.
Any feedback is appreciated.
1/500 sec. @ f8.0, ISO 200
Nice sand tufa, Chris on a bright Sierra day. I like the composition, and the detail is excellent. I do think it’s a bit too bright overall. It’s worth a tweak or two.
For those not familiar with these formations, here’s a brief note on how they are formed.
These formations are distinct from the Tufa towers that abound at the lake in that the process of their formation is quite different.
In the case of Sand Tufa, carbonate-charged groundwater flows through pumice sand that was deposited during a volcanic eruption long ago. Once the water drains out of the sand layer, the carbonate solidifies. Wind then eroded the unaffected pumice, leaving these weird formations.
-P
Thanks for the suggestion. I have reposted with the brightness lowered just a tad.
This is so beautiful. I love the details and that you can’t really know the size of it - it can be very small or huge. I think this will also be excellent in black and white.
Thanks, Tamar. I’ll try it in BW.
Chris, this is a spectacular structure. Thanks to @Preston_Birdwell for the description of how it was formed. The “tower of tendrils” aspect is amazing. The slightly darker repost is a nice improvement.
Wow, these formations are incredible. Much like the icebergs I recently shot with their evolving forms. The shadow adds depth to the repost. I think the only change I would make would be to omit the grass on the right of the horizon. It gives the effect that the horizon is not level.
@madd_laura @Mark_Seaver Thank you for your comments.
I’ve been to Mono several times and have not seen a tufa shaped like this one. Only pillar like columns. Very interesting! If it were mine, I’d look at making a B&W.
@Dave_Douglass Thanks for your suggestion.
@Dave_Douglass: The sand tufa are at Navy Beach. Like you, I have been to Mono Lake many times and the only place have seen them is Navy Beach.
Here’s one shot many years ago. Sand Magic at Mono Lake
-P
You captured a remarkable one here, with a very Gothic look! I love the composition and lighting – which can be challenging in mid-day. They range quite a bit inland from the beach as well. (It would have been the beach many years ago.) It’s a fascinating area – a sort of miniature forest compared to the big ones accessible by the boardwalk.
Congratulations on the EP – very well-deserved!
Thank you very much, Diane.
