Black and white photo of two hikers descending the switchbacks below Trail Crest above a lake, Mount Whitney.

Down from Trail Crest

Mount Whitney, California

Early side light down a long slope is the best thing that can happen to a mountain: it separates each ridge from the next and puts texture into ground that reads flat by noon. The two figures set the scale of the switchbacks — without them this is an abstract. Black and white because the low sun had already gone warm, and the warmth was pulling attention off the structure.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 24mm · f/11 · 1/200 · ISO 31

July 20, 2026

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