Box Lake - Morning Kiss

The beginning of a new (day.) :)

First light warmly caresses the towering peaks behind Box Lake in the Little Lakes Valley of the Eastern Sierra on what was an extremely calm and bitterly cold morning.

4AM alarm. 21 degrees F at the picnic table. I had a bowl of oatmeal and loaded up my SUV while waiting for the coffee to brew. I left camp just a few minutes before 5. 10 minutes later I arrived at the deserted trailhead.

With 20 pounds of gear on my back I made the mile and a half hike to Box Lake in total darkness aided by the light of my headlamp. I was happy to arrive in what was still very low light (that was the plan.) It was now time to sip some cowboy coffee, wait and enjoy the company of the early morning darkness and the absolute silence that we rarely experience.

I have made several early morning shoots in this area, everyone of them has been different for various reasons (time of year, temperature, wind, clear sky, clouds, Moon/no moon...) but on this day the lighting was exceptional, the lack of the slightest breeze created mirror like clarity on the lake surface which resulted in some of the most magnificent reflections I have ever witnessed. A truly special morning.

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