Black and white photo of a hiker on the blasted ledge trail cut into the headwall above Hamilton Lake, Sequoia.

The Climb Out of Hamilton

Hamilton Lakes, Sequoia National Park, California

Scale is the hardest thing to photograph in this range and the only dependable solution is a person. So the frame is built to be mostly wall, with the figure small, high, and standing in the one patch of light on the ledge. Black and white because the rock was already doing everything — in colour it is grey stone under a blue lid, and the eye has nowhere to go.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 24mm · f/11 · 1/320 · ISO 500

July 16, 2026

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