Lake Ediza is justly famous as one of the most beautiful locations in the Sierra. Though I’ve visited many times, I’d never had time to scout and photograph a composition with Ritter and Banner. This time, I arrived with plenty of time in the afternoon to scout. The 4:30 a.m. alarm allowed time to prepare the essential coffee and hike around the lake to my pre-selected location. I used a three-stop neutral density filter and Fuji Velvia 100 film -the best introduction of a new film in my career. Velvia 50 came out in 1990, and Fuji tweaked it for years before it became the product that we all love. There was an immediate shortage of Velvia 100 even while Velvia 50 was still on the market! The 100 is sharper, pushes better, and is one stop faster - a key advantage in large-format work.
