Breaking Ice

Longtail Boat, by Suprada on Flickr.

Location: Tioga Lake, Yosemite NP, California

This photo was taken during the memorial day holiday weekend, late May. The location is Tioga lake, just outside the Yosemite National Park east entrance. This glacier-carved sub-alpine lake and canyon are located on the highest paved road in California, the Tioga Pass road (Hwy 120). At the time I visited this place, the snow had been cleared and the Tioga pass had opened for the season two weeks before this photo was taken. The little snow in the mountains and the breaking ice on the water are a testament to the end of winter. The day was bright and crisp, with white fluffy clouds in the sky. The temperature, at this height was pleasantly cool. The lake waters were frigid. I did take off my shoes and step into the water hoping to get close to some rocks in the water… within 30s, my toes were turning blue!

To photograph this scene, I used a super-wide angle lens, the Canon 10-22mm EF-S at 10mm. I was very close to the foreground, my lens, a couple of feet away from the nearest point. I hoped to use the lake and the ice to get to the forest and the mountains.

Technical Info:
Exposure: 1/350s at f/8.0
Focal Length: 10mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon 10-22mm EF-S