Dark deep water of Sapphire Lake beneath a sheer granite wall in Evolution Basin, black and white.

Sapphire

Sapphire Lake, Kings Canyon National Park, California

Sapphire Lake is named for its color, and I photographed it in black and white anyway — the depth reads better than the hue. That water is glacial, hundreds of feet of it in places, and against the wall it goes nearly black in a way blue never quite communicates. Descending Evolution Basin you pass a lake like this every hour and have to keep choosing which ones cost you daylight.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/5.6 · 1/500 · ISO 72

July 8, 2025

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