This was a once-in-a-lifetime capture. I was camped at Lake George, sipping a glass of Chardonnay and worrying about the incredible bear problems at the lake this summer. My brain flashed maybe. I have been photographing regularly around the Lakes Basin this summer and had some insights about the possibilities. Monsoon moisture drenched the Eastern Sierra this month, and it had been pouring rain all day in Mammoth — there was no sunset at all until a sudden break to the west after the sun had fallen below the horizon. I jumped into my car and drove way too fast to a preselected spot. The light was astonishing, and as I was opening the door to grab the camera and tripod, the rainbow appeared. I ran the fifty yards to the spot, pulling and setting up the legs of my tripod as I went. The rainbow lasted less than thirty seconds. The camera work required all of my career lessons from years and years, and then the moment was done. I managed two captures, only one was good.
