Yellow arnica flowers on granite below the spires of Rowell Tower and Serpent's Tooth, Hamilton Lakes, Sequoia.

Arnica Under the Spires

Hamilton Lakes, Sequoia National Park, California

A near-far composition lives or dies on how close you are willing to get. The 14mm went down almost into the arnica — close enough that depth of field became the whole problem, solved at f/11 with the focus set a third of the way in. The range between shaded petals and sunlit granite needed a bracket. Cloud did the rest; in clear midday light there is no picture here.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S · 14mm · f/11 · 1/200 · ISO 50

July 15, 2026

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