A lone tufa tower in Mono Lake under stacked storm clouds, water, hills and sky in flat bands of blue and grey, California.

Rothko's Mono Lake

South Tufa, Mono Lake, California

Midday at Mono Lake, a storm building over the far shore. I had come to scout compositions for the evening and this was the only frame I made all afternoon: lake, hills and cloud deck stacking into flat bands, and one tufa to give the eye somewhere to land. The long lens is the point — at 150mm the distance collapses and the layers sit on top of each other like colour fields. The name was obvious once I saw it on the back of the camera.

Nikon Z 7_2 · TAMRON 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD A057Z · 150mm · f/11 · 1/1000 · ISO 200

August 12, 2026

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Tufa towers on the shore of Mono Lake at South Tufa in soft light before golden hour, calm water and thin cloud, California.Tufa towers reflected in Mono Lake at golden hour, receding storm clouds lit warm over South Tufa, California.The Milky Way over the tufa towers of South Tufa, Mono Lake, during the Perseid meteor shower, reflected in still water.

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