Six-second twilight exposure of Banner Peak over Thousand Island Lake with pink afterglow on the summit.

One in a Thousand

Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, California

Banner Peak at blue hour, six seconds of exposure smoothing Thousand Island Lake, the last pink hanging on the summit snow. Every JMT hiker makes a version of this picture; I waited for the hour when nobody else was standing at the shore and the lake had settled. Bracketed and blended for the sky. If this gallery has a single frame that explains why the trail is walked, I think it is this one.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/5 · 6.0s · ISO 250

July 16, 2025

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More from Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, California

Black and white photo of a hiker sitting on a rock gazing at Banner Peak across Thousand Island Lake.

More from JMT

The Milky Way core over two backpacking tents at a wilderness camp above Rainbow Falls at night.Black and white view up the columnar basalt cliff of Devils Postpile with a pine at the rim.Hikers resting beside the Lyell Fork in Tuolumne Meadows below granite domes, Yosemite National Park.Cathedral Peak reflected in still water at sunset under textured cloud, Yosemite National Park.A field of lupine in bloom below Cathedral Peak, Yosemite National Park.